Shooting Star Adventures
by Zoram Selrof
Summary: Sequel to "The Ancient 7 months have flown by ever since the latest A rediscovery of a forgotten planet is just the first in series of events which will lead Hoshikawa Subaru & to try to break through that planet's defense lines and fight the evil "Demon Tribe Army" commanded by the enigmatic "Great Demon King": a long campaign is about to
1. Chapter 1: Anomaly

**Shooting Star Adventures**

**By Zoram Selrof**

**Chapter 1: Anomaly **

17:45 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday May the 19th, 2205…

"… Well! We're drawing closer to the end of this 6th grade! I'm pleased that my popularity is still high and my project of having the whole school form one grand Brother Band is a reality!"

"As expected of _iinchou_…"

"Yeah… I feel hungry."

"Really… Gonta. Can't you think of something else?"

"That guy can only think about rotten beef!"

"Wha~t?"

"Nya, hah, hah, hah, ha~h!"

"Buro~! I'll make ya swallow that one, War Rock!"

"Shut yer useless trap, Ox!"

"My, my. There they go again…"

"The probabilities of a real battle happening clock at 75%..."

"Hah. That's being a man."

Shirogane Luna, Saishouin Kizamaro, Ushijima Gonta, Hoshikawa Subaru and Jack (all aged 12~13 years old) were chatting as they came out of Kodama Elementary: War – Rock began picking on Gonta, Ox got annoyed, Mode looked unimpressed, Pedia looked nervous and Jack formed a smug smile on his face.

"So! Subaru – kun. What are you doing every weekend where you vanish and there's no contacting you?" Luna asked.

"Ah… That's…"

"He sneaks into Area M!" War Rock laughed.

"What's that? A shop?" Luna frowned.

"Ask Mr. Perfect." War Rock laughed again.

"Buro~! I'm heating up!" Ox exclaimed.

"Then go fight in a corner of empty space." Luna challenged.

"Yessir! Last one is a turtle!"

"Oi! No fair!"

Both Wizards ran off towards the skies while the group stepped into the square in front of the Big Wave store.

"So?" Luna questioned.

"_Iinchou_, didn't I tell you? I go to Kazimura Island to resume my training with Dr. Lartes. I don't want to get rusty at it." Subaru replied.

"Ah. I tended to forget about it… But what's that "Area M" thing about, anyway?"

"It's a joke by Rock which isn't even half-funny." Subaru shrugged.

"… Oh. Obviously…" Kizamaro muttered.

"What?" Gonta frowned.

"Hmpf." Jack grinned.

"Yo! What's with those faces?" A voice rang out.

"Ah! Akatsuki – san!"

Akatsuki Shidou caught up with them while munching a "Sweet Candy" bar at a mad speed: Acid hovered right next to him.

"Shidou." He called out.

"What?"

"That's a bad idea."

"What's a bad idea?"

"Your mania with the "Sweet Candy" bars…"

"Oh. Leave me alone, Acid, and go prove Einstein's relativity theory once and for all with Yoiri – hakase." Shidou grumbled.

"Fine. But that won't save you from Queen Tia's ice glares."

"Jack. Can't ya tell your neechan to be somewhat more open?"

"Neechan is neechan." Jack shrugged.

"Fine. I get the point of the message hidden behind the veil, thank you very much!" Shidou sarcastically replied.

"Well… I feel like rushing home…" Gonta muttered.

"Heh, heh, heh. And have ginger beef for supper? No – one escapes _meitantei_ Kizamaro's _great deductions_!" Kizamaro giggled as he adjusted his glasses' frame.

"Yikes!" Gonta gasped.

"Hah. So predictable, really!" Jack looked amused.

Subaru suddenly looked elsewhere and seemed to remember something: he then switched to a worried face before sighing.

"What's wrong, Subaru?" Shidou asked.

"Eh… Akatsuki – san… Do you remember that I asked a favor out of you to check on the whereabouts of a former classmate of mine?"

"Huh… What was his name again?" Shidou frowned.

"Futaba Tsukasa." Acid reminded him.

"Oh. True! We found out that he'd been the host of the FM Gemini and could Denpa – Henkan into Gemini Spark…"

"But Akatsuki – san wasn't able to locate him, right?"

"No."

"Why?" Gonta asked.

"Futaba didn't try to Denpa – Henkan with a Hunter VG, so we weren't able to issue him a "Transcode" and to locate him."

"What? He didn't switch from a Star Carrier to a Hunter – VG?" Luna frowned.

"Gemini…? Corvus used to say the guy was known for being a manipulator and fond of stabbing a blade into everyone from behind… Not unlike King, truly… He manipulated the FM King into starting the invasion and attacking their neighbor planet, AM Planet, right?" Jack recalled.

"Yeah. And some remains of his program were left installed on Tsukasa – kun's Star Carrier when he transferred the data there from his previous device… Gemini's personality file wasn't there anymore, but it could be engaged anytime and the Denpa – Henkan was stable enough…" Subaru explained.

"Hmmm… Yet, I tried contacting the orphanage where he is supposed to be living at: they haven't seen him ever since over a year ago, slightly after the Meteor G Incident…" Shidou followed.

"Did he travel elsewhere?" Luna suggested.

"I thought the same, too, so I searched isolated-like places where he might try to disconnect and spend time alone, but… No result." Subaru admitted with a sigh.

"Didn't ya try Noise Waves?" Jack asked.

"No. But that's because he shouldn't be able to stand Noise Waves to begin with." Subaru replied.

"Hmmm… Weird, then." Jack concluded.

"Maybe it's a mystery sans an answer…?" Kizamaro wondered.

"Dunno…" Gonta muttered.

Subaru sighed and looked at the sunny skies while Shidou seemed to be concerned, too…

17:51 PM (Japan Time)…

"… I'm home!"

"Welcome back!"

Subaru stepped into his home: Akane was sitting in one of the sofas and reading something being displayed over a Real Wave screen.

"Where's Dad?"

"You know Daigo – san: he's working on a new analysis project at WAXA with Amachi – kun and Yoiri – hakase." She replied.

"Did Rock come back?"

"Not yet, I think."

"No wonder…" Subaru looked amused by the reply.

"He went to compete with a friend?"

"Correct."

"By the way… You're going to leave for the mansion this weekend, I guess?"

"Yeah… Eh… Does that bother you, Mom?"

"… Not really. We've gotten used to it. And since you get along so well with that gentleman, then…" She calmly replied.

"O. K. I'll be on my room, then."

"Oh! And I think that Rock – kun was up to something… He suddenly came during school hours and spent a while doing something to the computer, so…" Akane warned.

"… Yeah. It wouldn't surprise me." Subaru muttered.

"He must be plotting a joke, then?"

"Unmistakably."

Subaru rolled his eyes while Akane giggled…

18:04 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Come on, you two… You didn't need to try to destroy half of the Cosmo Wave, did you?"

"Ya cheap look-alike! Ya didn't need to butt into a manly thing!"

"Buro~! Yeah! Go hunt Viruses down!"

"Sorry, but Moon Disaster filled a complaint, so…"

"Che!"

War Rock and Ox were playing the offended while hovering as they looked away from each other above the Wave Road of the Cosmo Wave: a third person was trying to dialogue with them.

This third participant looked rather similar to Rock Man but with several design alternations to him: his main color of choice was red.

He sported black shades and a flock of messy reddish hair came out from behind the helmet given how it only covered the face and the front of the head: his ear-pads had two purple "V" letters drawn inside of them.

His armor had the purple letters "BS" engraved on the chest area while his legs were colored black and had two red stripes running down the legs' sides in a parallel manner.

His right forearm was covered by a device colored red coupled with a piece of it which was colored transparent red: a small indentation near the wrist had the same "BS" initials engraved there: and, where the hand would be, a large double-barreled shotgun emerged instead.

"Blood Shadow! Ya are the last guy I wanna see!" War Rock played the offended.

"Buro~! Ya got in the way!" Ox grumbled.

"Subaru – kun wouldn't like this, anyway." Blood Shadow sighed.

"Bertie~! _Aibou_ came~!" A voice rang out.

"Sigma. Stop kidding and show your hide." Blood Shadow grumbled.

"Heh, heh, heh."

A second person showed up from apparently out of nowhere.

This guy was about two meters tall and was colored jet black: a red spheroid could be seen set on his chest area and it seemed to be missing the armor over its mass.

His face had two red eyes and one shone brighter than the other: two horns, one of which was almost erased, were set on both sides of his head and added a "demonic" look to him.

Green data flows moved around his body and he held a massive black and green sword in his right hand which he was currently aiming at the floor in lazy manner.

Overall, he seemed to be tall and imposing.

"A manly guy came!" War Rock grinned.

"Buro~!"

"So! Why do you get all of the credit, Sigma?" Blood Shadow asked.

"Ask Mr. Perfect!"

"Che. Anyway… Let's wrap up our patrol and go back to the HQ. Boss wants to tell us something he's found out."

"Sure, Mr. Discoverer!"

"Jeez. Why do you and Sir Omega persist on staging a "nickname war"?"

"Dunno, Bloody Shadowy!"

"Jeez. Okay. I'm going on ahead. Next time Mr. Universe will bother to show up so as to stop both of you." Blood Shadow grumbled.

"Mr. Universe, eh? That's gotta be yer Boss!" War Rock laughed.

"Wrong. And I'm off."

"Heh, heh, heh. Bloody Shadowy is fun to tease with from time to time~, ya see~… Let's go have fun, my pals!"

18:11 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Huh? The phone… Hello?"

"Hello, Subaru."

"Oh. Boss. Is something the matter?"

"I got a hold of some news which may interest you…"

"Really?"

"Really."

Subaru was sitting in front of his work-desk and having a talk with a man on his early twenties whose hair was black and his irises' color was blue using the Hunter – VG.

"My supercomputer, Black Ace, rediscovered a forgotten planet which hadn't been sighted again since over 50 years ago… Zenay III…"

"Whoa!" Subaru gasped.

"The curious part is… There are several strange energy anomalies spreading over its surface which don't seem to be natural… I was going to suggest to WAXA if they could send the Raid Troop members to check it out…" The man suggested.

"I could speak with Akatsuki – san: we'd all benefit from such an adventure, really! When could we go?"

"Well... Truth is… We _can't_ go yet… Some kind of Denpa anomaly is surrounding the system: it makes all attempts to open space-time tunnels become very dangerous and it won't be safe to go until it clears… We don't know when or how, though. I'm still looking into it." The man admitted all of a sudden.

"Hmmm… Isn't that deterrence?" Subaru realized.

"Sort of, yeah…"

"Mr. Devil's advocate claims it's his client's own handiwork." An amused voice rang out off-screen.

"Omega – san?" Subaru wondered.

The man looked over his right shoulder before the screen was filled with static and was replaced by a fish-eye-camera's feed of the person named Omega.

The guy struck as being over one meter and eighty tall.

A blue jewel shaped like an inverted triangle was set on the forehead of his helmet which was emitting a cross-shaped flash.

His eyes' irises were blue and they displayed calm and concentration while long blond hair came out from behind him and reached all the way to the floor.

He had a red vest over his mainly black body and red armor over his forearms and boots: two golden circlets were set around his forearms and on his boots as well.

"Yo! Bertie – chan! Saxby came back to haunt ya~!" He laughed.

The feed was suddenly cut to be replaced by a close-up of "Boss": he could be seen wearing body armor colored metallic grey and a purple cape hung from behind his shoulders.

"Omega. Stop trolling."

"Roger, Vadous – dono~!"

"The "dono" was unnecessary, really."

"Oh? So you prefer Dragon's tomato carrots?"

"No way…"

"He did show up in the Guinness of World Records 2204!"

"He didn't and stop making up vain claims."

"Sure, Mr. Vain."

"Get out."

"Through the trapdoor?"

"Whatever."

Omega giggled and ran off while Vadous rolled his eyes.

"Anyway… I'll contact you if something new were to pop out. Do tell about this to WAXA and maybe you could go visit Planet FM: they might be able to offer you a clue." Vadous suggested.

"Sounds like a good plan… I'll go for that, Boss."

"Ya will go and sneak into Area M!"

"Wha! Rock! Don't show up of nowhere!"

"Heh, heh, heh…"

War Rock had suddenly shown up in front of Subaru while making a scary face: Subaru gasped and stepped back.

"I heard the talk: I'm gonna gain home field advantage to then beat Ox to a pulp!" War Rock laughed.

"And stop with the joke of "Area M"… I'll _never_ try to sneak into Misora – chan's apartment! Go slice Viruses!" Subaru grumbled.

"Sure, Big Boss."

"Who…?"

War Rock ran off while Subaru rolled his eyes and sighed.

"You didn't have enough with hiding a _zombie_ mask under my desk you keep on trying to provoke me… You can be a bad person when you want to, Rock!" He annoyingly muttered.

He resumed typing into his computer and working on his homework as he hummed a tune: he could hear War Rock laughing hysterically close by along with the yells of Viruses upon being deleted.

"I dunno if he's trying to look up to Jack the Ripper or what but he's starting to get scary, even. Maybe Dr. Lartes will know how to set him straight… But I can't shake the idea of actually visiting a new planet off my head… It's gotta be a cool experience! I'll finally realize my dream…!"


	2. Chapter 2: Demon Tribe's Strike

**Chapter 2: Demon Tribe's Strike**

10:18 AM (Japan Time), Saturday May the 22nd…

"… I'm glad you guys came all the way here, for once…"

"How couldn't, Cepheus? I'd always wanted to visit Planet FM."

"Tee, heh, heh. I'm getting inspired for my new single."

"Buruo~! So this is where ya lived at, Ox?"

"Yeah! This is my planet!"

"Heh! I borrowed a lodging here for a while!"

"Buro~! Hmpf!"

"If Yoiri – hakase could see me, she'd jump outta the ground."

"Shidou…"

"A~u! My blood's boiling!"

"You don't change…"

Rock Man, Harp Note, Ox Fire, Acid Ace and Wolf Forest were speaking with Cepheus inside of what seemed to be a throne room which overlooked several structures spreading across the horizon.

"And this is a precursor to the Real Waves, then… Cool!" Rock Man commented with a grin.

"Meh. No big deal!" War Rock shrugged.

"Pororon! Ya always act like that…" Harp giggled.

"No wonder." Harp Note grinned.

"Buro~! Ox beats you when it comes to brains!" Ox Fire exclaimed.

"Yeah! Take that!"

"Heh. This looks exciting again." Acid Ace grinned.

"Shidou…" Acid grumbled.

"Why can't they do anything else which isn't fighting each other, anyway?" Wolf Forest wondered.

"Dunno." Wolf shrugged.

"By the way…" Rock Man called for Cepheus' attention.

"What is it?"

"Eh… Cepheus. Do you know a method to trace a Denpa Body's remains as they are stored inside of some device?" Rock Man asked.

"Hmmm… It depends on how complete those remains are…"

"I mean Gemini's remains…"

"You want to dispose of them?"

"Not really… I want to find his host."

"Huh? I thought you were friends?"

"We _are_ friends, but he isn't anywhere to be located."

"Strange, then… I'll try to work on it, though. It shouldn't be much of a trouble, after all."

"Thank you."

"Don't mind it. Maybe the AM Administrators can shed some light into the topic, too. They're overseeing AM Planet's reconstruction… And they're making a lot of progress. Guard is still kept over the Black Hole Server, but, insofar, the only one seen coming there is either you or Burai."

"As expected of Burai… He likes thrills." Acid Ace grinned.

"Maybe one day I'll venture there, too. I don't wanna fall behind." Harp Note grinned and directed a glance at Rock Man.

"Huh? There' something in my face?"

"No."

Rock Man frowned while Harp Note giggled.

"Subaru?" A voice rang out through his radio.

"Master?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm in the HQ, but we're picking up worrisome signatures originating very close to Planet FM… They seem to be into an interception course with the planet, even." The man replied.

"What?" Harp Note asked.

"Really, Dr. Lartes?" Acid Ace asked.

"I don't troll like Omega!" Dr. Lartes insisted.

"So… What does that mean?" Ox Fire asked next.

"A~u~! Invaders!" Wolf Forest sentenced.

"What?" Cepheus gasped.

"Total signatures: five! They're accelerating and seem to be heading towards the royal palace building where you guys are at… Estimated touchdown time: 1 minute 14 seconds!"

"Cepheus! Please stay back. We'll handle this!" Rock Man told him.

"Roger."

"I dunno who they are: but they won't get past here!" Harp Note muttered aloud.

"Buruo~! Bring it on!"

"A~u~! Come!"

"48 seconds to touchdown… They've generated a five-pointed star formation and they're going to land in that mode… It'd seem they're inside of cylindrical capsules designed to survive atmospheric re-entry, even!" Dr. Lartes detailed.

"Five VS Five… But we don't know if we'll be at an elemental disadvantage…" Rock Man muttered.

"Hah! I'll blow them up!" War Rock laughed.

"33 seconds… They're slowing down."

"The calm before the battle, eh?" Acid Ace looked amused.

"Shidou… This is serious." Acid grumbled.

"They surely aren't any grunts." Harp Note deduced.

"21 seconds… They've corrected their trajectory to land vertically instead of directly crashing against the building…"

"Buruo~! Let's go~!" Ox Fire rallied.

"I'll cut them up!" Wolf Forest howled.

"7 seconds…! 6 seconds…! 5 seconds…! 4 seconds…! 3 seconds…! 2 seconds…! 1 seconds…! Touchdown! Warning! Those things are opening up and the enemies are quickly converging upon the central room!"

A scandal formed out of the room: Rock Man quickly shielded Cepheus while Harp Note and Acid Ace faced the east side doors: Ox Fire and Wolf Forest faced the west side doors.

"Heh, heh, heh… What bothersome foolish people!"

"Time to send them down the cliff!"

"Time to electrocute them to death!"

"Time to ram into them!"

"Time to make them sink into the Universe's "Dark"…"

"Manly voices…!" Rock Man muttered.

"One of them sounds commanding, even." Harp Note added.

"You know the motto: the big boss leads the sheep." Acid Ace grinned.

"Buruo~! Nothing scares me!" Ox Fire exclaimed.

"Come! Invaders!" Wolf Forest challenged.

"Coming…! I can feel a distinct signature originating from them! What in the world are they…?" Cepheus muttered.

The ceiling over the center of the room was blown up and one of the invaders dropped down amongst debris and dust before standing up and making a sinister chuckle.

"Heh, heh, heh… Found you… Rock Man!" The voice exclaimed.

"What?" Rock Man gasped.

"Doesn't sound like someone we knew…" War Rock muttered.

The invader seemed to be a customized Wizard whose design was reminiscent of a vampire.

They seemed to be over a meter and ninety in height.

His main body color was purple and navy blue: he had an upper body colored purple which ended half-way around the torso: the rest of the body was colored navy blue.

His head was set inside of a neck-like formation with fangs protruding from their upper edge while pointing forward.

The interior of it was partly colored blood red: he had a cone-like object at the lower edge of his chin: the outer edge of the head was colored purple and two golden-colored bat-like ears formed at the sides of it.

His eyes' irises were red and looked menacing: he had a moustache-like pattern below his nose which was interrupted in the middle of it. The pattern left two straight lines aiming SW and SE: his mouth had fangs.

His arms had a pattern resembling the Alphabet "F" character mirrored drawn on his forearms: his hands were claws, too, and had four claw-fingers on them colored pale white.

The upper body had two small round holes with a golden rim set to the edges of the torso and beneath the shoulders: two slightly curved golden-colored pieces were set above each shoulder while a small square piece was set at the base of the neck: it was colored black and had three vertical stripes drawn there.

His emblem was colored golden and had five pyramidal-like buttons.

These limes were emerging from its rim and aiming South, NW, NE, SW and SE: two golden lines formed at the sides of it and marked the border between the upper body and the rest of the body.

The drawing inside was two curved halves aiming for each other colored purple plus a small peak-like object on the middle of it: the space between the three drawings was painted in blood red color.

His feet had three large finger-claws colored white: each of his legs had two white triangle-shaped patterns aiming upwards set around the knee.

"I am Shade Man! Leader of the FM Invading Troop!" He announced as he spread his wings wide open and grinned.

"Hah! And where's that "Invading Troop", ugly?" War Rock challenged with a grin.

The east doors blew up to reveal two new intruders.

"Nyah, hah, hah, hah, hah! My name is Blizzard Man: the king of the ski lanes!" One of them exclaimed.

This second invader, standing at the left of the east entrance, didn't seem to be much taller than a meter and fifty.

His eyes' irises were red as well and he had two red ear pads: a ski cap was being worn atop his head and it had a blue band slightly above the forehead: the rest was colored orange: some cotton was atop the head.

His shoulders were colored sea blue and his forearms had an orange rim at their start: his hands were covered in the classical white "skin" as well and held two ski sticks with an orange handle.

His upper body was colored orange until slightly beneath the chest emblem: there it formed a pattern reminiscent of the Alphabet letter "M" and colored sea blue: his lower body was colored white.

His chest emblem had a red rim and the drawing a white-colored snowman's silhouette without nose, mouth or eyes.

The rest of the emblem was colored black and so were his arms and legs.

His main body was round and both his arms and legs were short: he had green skies attached to his blue ski boots' soils.

"My name is Cloud Man: electricity is my specialty!"

This second guy's lower body was a grayish cloud and he had no legs: his upper body had a mix of magenta and orange coloring.

His head had an orange helmet with the Alphabet letter "U" set on its forehead plus a spike having a small gray cloud over it: the helmet created a shade-like effect around his eyes, the irises of which were blood red as well: the rest of his face was gray in color.

His shoulders and forearms were colored orange while the skin was black in coloring.

A magenta ring was set slightly above each wrist, too.

Two small wing-like objects with three indentations on it and colored white emerged from the sides of his shoulders.

An arrow-like object was set over the hand and the forearms: its border was colored white.

His torso had three white stripes below the chest which only occupied about the center section of it: his emblem was set slightly beneath them and it depicted a single cloud set against a blackish background and having a white rim.

He had an open vest-like drawing over the sides of his torso which began above the shoulders and reached past the lower torso where his emblem was at: the vest's border was colored in a goldenrod color.

Each side also had a cloud-shaped drawing slightly above where the three stripes began at: two button-like drawings were set between his neck opening and the stripes.

"Blizzard Man and Cloud Man…?" Harp Note wondered aloud while frowning.

"They have a weird vibe to them…!" Acid Ace muttered.

The west side doors blew up, too, to reveal another two intruders who stood in the entrance: Ox Fire and Wolf Forest stepped back and then assumed combat positions.

"Heh, heh, heh… I am Cosmo Man. You people shall soon become food to the Black Hole Server."

This guy's eyes were simply black and surrounded by skin while his nose and mouth were covered by a thin layer of golden armor.

Four lines converged on the forehead where a small diamond was set: the head's upper portion was exposed and it had the typical black "skin".

Most of his upper torso was encompassed by golden-colored armor which also covered the shoulders: it ended around the chest where the emblem was set at: it was a simple four-pointed blue star drawn against a black background.

The design of the armor included two thick white lines emerging NW and NE from his emblem and curving as they ran parallel to the neck and past the shoulders.

Another two thin blue lines formed from the east and west sides of the emblem and climbed upwards: thus diving the armor into two uneven portions: the lower one was short in length while the upper one was larger.

The armor also covered both sides of the neck and continued above the head where it expanded into two ear-like extensions having blue round dome-like pads.

The arms had a blue ring around the elbow and each ring was complemented by fin-shaped extensions aiming upwards towards the shoulders.

A pale blue transparent ring was also set atop each wrist: the wrists had blue armor covering them: the fingers were covered by the golden armor.

The plain black-skinned feet (the fingers of which couldn't be seen) had blue armor on their ankles.

They also had a golden-colored diamond-like object set slightly above the ankle: this object had a blue-colored triangle-like pattern aiming upwards set slightly above of where they began at.

Two thick white lines extended from above the end of those diamonds and travelled towards the lower torso area until they met an oval-shaped object with a brown edge and metallic interior: two small rectangles were drawn on the north and south edges, too.

Another two thick lines came out from the NW and NE edges and met the chest emblem by connecting the SW and SE edges, too.

Lastly, a large blue transparent ring was set around his body in a 45º angle and aiming to the SE from around the same height as the right shoulder until the left forearm.

"Heh. I'm Swallow Man!"

The last intruder looked about a meter and seventy tall.

His helmet design was peculiar: the central part was colored red while the sides were colored blue: the sides extended upwards and formed a shape reminiscent of "horns" while his eyes' irises' color was purple.

His upper torso had two red plaques of armor over his usual blue armor: his shoulders and arms before the elbow were exposed, revealing the black "skin".

His forearms design included a gray-colored fund extending from around the elbow until the palm: a yellow diamond-shaped object was set in top of each palm plus a small blue-colored piece reminiscent of a bird's elongated wings: his fingers were covered in white "gloves".

Two blue wings with some vertical white stripes on them formed behind of his body as well.

The sides of his main body were colored black together with a thin red stripe which marked the border with the central body, colored white.

His boots began around the knees and were colored navy blue: they ended in two-fingered feet which seemed to be a bird's talons.

His emblem, drawn into his ear pads, was a blue-colored bird's silhouette as seen from the sides: its wings were open in a 45º angle and the drawing seemed to suggest movement.

"Cosmo Man…?" Ox Fire wondered.

"Swallow Man…?" Wolf Forest wondered next.

"Shade Man – sama! Command us!" The four exclaimed.

"Destroy everything! We, the FM Planet Invading Troop, by the orders of Demon King – sama, shall wipe this planet out of the universe!" The one named Shade Man commanded.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY~?" The six good guys asked.

"Hah. Need Not To Know! You foolish guys go first! Crush Noise!"

Shade Man generated three rings of supersonic sounds which hit Rock Man but he didn't yield from his position.

"Wood Slash!"

Rock Man jumped towards Shade Man, but he folded his right wing so as to cover his face and body below the eyes: Rock Man's sword met the upper edge and was repelled.

"Crap."

"Elec Storm!"

"Shock Note!"

"Snow Rolling!"

"Wing Blade!"

"Swallow Cutter!"

"Ox Fire!"

"Cosmo Buster!"

"Wolf Claws!"

Rock Man ignored the fray between his friends and the other invaders to focus on Shade Man: he tried to hit him by crouching and then aiming upwards but Shade Man grinned.

"Red Wing!"

He suddenly transformed into a group of red-colored bats which cut through Rock Man and dizzied him: Shade Man then re-formed and grinned while Rock Man gasped and tried to regain his earlier bearings on the enemy.

"Shade Claw!"

A gigantic recreation of Shade Man's right claw formed around Rock Man and gripped his body:

"Grah! Mad Vulcan X!"

The rounds of the Mad Vulcan X blew the claw up and Rock Man yelled as he brandished a Sword Fighter X and dived for Shade Man: the enemy grinned and suddenly spread his wings open.

"Crush Noise!"

"Gua~h!"

The attack knocked Rock Man back and made him land, hard, into the ground: he quickly stood up and tried to analyze the situation.

"Is that all, Rock Man?" Shade Man taunted.

"W-who are you guys?" Rock Man demanded.

"Don't mistake us for mere Denpa Bodies or Wizards! We are a superior breed: the Darkloids!" He exclaimed.

"Darkloids?" Everyone wondered.

"I can't locate any entry of such a term in our database." Acid reported.

"Hah. Then you lowlifes are slow to catch up."

"Who is that "Demon King" guy?" Rock Man demanded.

"Hah! Need Not To Know, brat. You lowlifes shall be reduced to food for the Demon King within His land!" Shade Man laughed.

"Stop the train, will ya? Omega said that, too. Something tells me you guys' Boss ripped that motto off somewhere." Acid Ace suddenly pointed out.

"Who cares? You lowlifes will soon be dead, anyway! Crush…!"

"Sword Fighter X!"

Rock Man suddenly delivered several attacks to Shade Man and his body structure changed to that of Libra Noise.

"W-what's that form?" Shade Man gasped.

"Noise Change! Libra!"

"Noise Change…?" Shade Man looked terrified.

"Great Axe! Go~!"

"Crush…!"

Rock Man scored a Counter Hit upon hitting Shade Man when he was ready to attack and hovered into the air while building up energy on his hands.

"Meteor Light Barrage!"

Several meteors bombarded Shade Man and he uttered a howl of agony as he collapsed into his knees: Rock Man gave him no break and suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Heat Upper X!"

"Guo~h!"

Shade Man was set on flames and he fell on the ground while being obviously too beaten to move.

"Alright! Where did you guys come from?" Rock Man questioned.

"Heh, heh, heh… That planet…"

"Which planet?"

"The one you lowlifes can't reach…"

"Zenay III…? What's so important about it? It's at least 130 light-years from Earth!" Rock Man questioned.

"My hint ends here…" Shade Man chuckled.

"Guo ~h…! To think a woman could drive the great me to such ends…!"

"Crap…! This white guy is too fast…!"

"No good…! This fool's armor is too thick…!"

"Che! This is turning around!"

The other four invaders were having trouble facing their respective opponents given the level of wounds they'd gained.

"Heh, heh, heh… Soon… The Demon Tribe… will rule the Earth… and you lowlifes' age will come to a sudden _shuuen_…"

"A sudden end…?" Rock Man gasped.

"Demon King – sama is no need of… petty toys… like Meteor G… or that black hole… his soldiers will… descend upon Earth… and stir up chaos and fear… Heh, heh, heh… Code 222… I shall be waiting… in the _Naraku_!"

Shade Man's chest began to emit white streaks of blinding light while he laughed aloud in a maniac-like tone: he blew up all of a sudden and the explosion sent Rock Man flying across the room and crashing into the ground past Cepheus' throne.

"O~w…!" He groaned.

"… Code 222! We go to the _Naraku_… and you lowlifes shall soon join the hatred and grudge flowing painfully wandering forever across a blood-stained "Dark Sea"…! Farewell!"

They also blew up and their explosions knocked the Denpa Henkan users into the walls: they eventually recovered and looked around the mess the throne room was.

"Are you alright?" Cepheus asked.

"Somewhat…" Rock Man admitted.

"Che! Lunatics!" War Rock grumbled.

"O. K… So we at least know where they came from and that they plan on showing up in Earth soon…" Acid Ace summarized.

"Let them come…! I'll beat them again because they'll look down on me…!" Harp Note muttered as she rubbed her right ribcage.

"Ugh… That guy's attacks took a toll on my armor…" Ox Fire complained aloud.

"Be glad we're still alive to complain, kid…" Wolf Forest told him.

"Hmmm… Black Ace suggests they were materialized programs not unlike Wizards or Denpa Bodies, yet… Something about them reeked. They had a Wizard-like structure but something apart from that self-destruct program gave off crazy readings…" Dr. Lartes told them.

"Guess you should send the data to Yoiri – hakase…" Acid Ace suggested as he rubbed his forehead.

"I already did so."

"Akatsuki…" A cool voice rang out.

"Wha! Queen Tia! Ya hijacked the radio?" He gasped.

"… Correct."

"Whaddya want today? I barely made it out alive." He complained.

"… Why do you need to provoke me like that?" She icily asked.

"Dunno! Ask that Demon King guy: I'm sure he timed everything down to the last micro-second!" Acid Ace sarcastically replied.

"Hmpf. And to think there was an Ice Queen… Now we have a Demon King… Typical of men…" She muttered.

"Oi, oi! Complain to the guy, will ya!" Acid Ace shot back.

"Find him." She commanded.

"We know where he is!" Acid Ace complained.

"Get there."

"Ya aren't my wife." Acid Ace muttered.

"… What did you say?" She questioned.

"Nothing."

"Come on, Queen Tia… Aren't you being too harsh to Akatsuki – kun? Give him a break." The WAXA Chief told her.

"… Fine."

"I'd rather say she should've been the Ice Queen instead of that crazy woman we arrested back in October…" Acid Ace sarcastically muttered.

"Ugh. I'd rather not." Harp Note looked nervous by the idea.

"I'd rather not joke with that." Dr. Lartes drily told him.

"Okay, okay! I quit! You guys win!"

"Akatsuki – san's humor backfires on him…" Ox Fire muttered.

"Yeah… Like a plugged shotgun!" War Rock laughed.

"That's why I said "Crush Dealer" sounded better as our Team's "Reason"…" Acid Ace argued.

"Uh… But "Foil Dealer's Ambition" sounded cool, too." Ox Fire argued back while chuckled.

"I give up." Acid Ace grimly muttered.

"Let's sneak into Area L." War Rock laughed.

"I'm not falling for that anymore, Rock… Let's go back!"

"Yeah. We're all tired, anyway." Acid Ace sighed.

_Who is that "Demon King", anyway? I've got a bad feeling…_


	3. Chapter 3: Ensnared

**Chapter 3: Ensnared**

18:58 PM (Japan Time), Saturday May the 22nd…

"… Hmpf. So… Some not-so-weak grunts are going to show up sooner or later to bring us trouble… And their boss claims being a Demon King, huh?"

"Y-yeah… They seem to be designed to self-destroy when being low in HP and about to be caught, too…"

"Hah. Desperate attempts… They won't be able to stand up to me and I'll get the information out of them…"

"S-sure…"

"What was their name again?"

"Well… They called themselves "Darkloids" and seem to have names which end up in "Man", so…"

"Hmpf. Fine… And you lowlife barely managed to prove yourself today, so you're lowering my expectations…"

"Well! I just barely made it back alive from fighting that Shade Man guy, and you showed up with a timing which barely gave me any time to recover… Burai!"

"A real war has no breaks."

"This ain't a war!"

"Don't argue with the jerk: it'll get worse."

"Yeah. Guess so."

"I'm off. And I'll defeat that guy on my own, too. Don't get in my way, Rock Man."

"Do as you like."

"Hmpf. Let's go, Laplace."

"Da…"

Rock Man sighed in relief as Burai warped out of the Wave Road close to the Black Hole Server and he then began to head elsewhere.

"Really… I come up to check on the Black Hole Server and Burai ambushes me… Have I ever run out from a fight?" Rock Man muttered with a hint of annoyance.

"Well… When Misora rescued ya when ya couldn't beat the guy…" War Rock shrugged.

"But that was once." He argued.

"But he holds grudges." War Rock warned.

"No wonder."

"He's rude to everyone, really. He could try being a bit less hostile and not sound like he's the king of the world." Harp Note added as she caught up with him.

"Harp Note? Did Ox Fire send you?"

"No. I came on my own because I guessed what'd happened. Anyway… Things are going to be shaky." Harp Note replied.

"With Burai in such a mood…" Rock Man shrugged.

"Ya can expect a blow in the stomach." War Rock laughed.

"Pororon! Rock…" Harp didn't look amused.

"Yo! Guys. We're heading back before Queen Tia places a curse on us and we turn into cats." Acid Ace grinned.

"Shidou…" Acid sounded exasperated by now.

"Buruo~! Yeah… We'll have to prepare a good defense… I'll protect _iinchou_ no matter what, though!" Ox Fire exclaimed.

"If any grunts show up, then… I'll slice them up." Wolf Forest grinned.

"Juurou… Cool it down." Wolf sighed.

"Let's go!" Acid Ace rallied.

19:17 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hmpf. A hidden Time-Space gateway led me here… But Rock Man wasn't kidding: this barrier is too powerful for me try to break through: it'd be suicide."

"Ga…"

"Hmmm?"

Burai was standing in a Wave Road high above the atmosphere of a large planet: quick swirling masses of clouds crossed through its skies and blocked all sighting of the surface: the whole planet emitted a reddish glow which looked creepy and menacing enough.

"Wait… I feel something coming close… It's not a very powerful signature, yet… It's coming from the planet… Interesting. It'd seem this "Demon King" jerk has arranged for a welcome party… Fine. Let them come. I'll prove to that jerk that he can't try to claim to be the strongest man around here anymore: I'll dethrone that jerk." Burai made a smug smile and sounded amused.

"Yu…"

"Groa~h!" An inhuman voice roared.

"Coming!"

A program formed in front of him: it could easily be over two meters tall and did look like a monster.

The head had six lances (three per side) spread across its oval-like form and which scaled down in height from the front to the back: a crimson jewel-like inverted trapeze was set on the forehead along with two small dome-shaped objects where the ears would be at: its eyes were yellow and lifeless.

Its mouth was a mere line forming a trapeze over the grayish/metallic skin couple with a vertical line crossing down the middle of the face from the top to the bottom.

Its main upper body was colored green and had a brownish edge surrounding the neck: two red and golden-colored halves of one sphere had been placed at the sides to support the shoulders which had white-like "horns" emerging from them.

A thin black torso formed beneath the chest and connected with a red cone-like lower body.

The arms were extremely short and didn't include elbows: they were colored red and soon gave way to claw-like hands colored green with some brownish armor over them: the wrists were colored in that same color, too.

A small thin white stripe was also visible slightly beneath the upper edge of the lower body and which almost completely circled it.

The lower body included a white circle the interior of which was colored black and contained a small crimson dome-shaped jewel-like object.

Four green legs with brownish knees and a cutter set facing forward beneath the knee came out of the lower body's holes.

The monster had a short tail with slight armor emerging behind it.

"So, you lowlife are my opponent." Burai deduced.

The monster uttered an echoing roar without opening the mouth and a Real Wave screen formed in the air:

"BOSS: DREAM VIRUS"

"Hah. So that "Demon King" jerk now believes this is an RPG game in which we are the pawns playing roles. Whatever. Once I'm done with you lowlife, then… That jerk goes next. I'll sweep the ground with them standing on it. Hah." Burai shrugged.

"I wonder about that, Mu's Burai." A slightly pitched voice rang out of nowhere.

"Who goes there?"

"_Mazokuchou_."

"Demon Tribe Chief? So you lowlife must be very close to the "Demon King"… And you lowlife set this rubbish into me?"

"True. But let's level this up." The voice giggled.

Another seven Dream Viruses formed around Burai and he looked around in a surprised manner.

"Each one has 1500 HP but can use Wood, Elec, Aqua and Fire – Element Attacks plus some "Non – Elemental" attacks… They can coordinate pretty well, too. Please have fun with we Demon Tribe's "Boss – Class" Monster, Mu's Burai… Tee, heh, heh, heh."

"You lowlife don't sound like a man." Burai muttered.

"I am a man, but I'm yet growing. But if I were you, I'd be concerned about how to make it out alive from that situation." The voice shrugged.

"Whatever. Come at me, rubbish. I'll show you rubbish that you messed with the wrong opponent…" Burai shrugged.

The Dream Viruses roared, but, before they could react, Burai had jumped into the air and brought the Laplace Blade down into one of their heads: he then violently severed its body in two and tossed the Laplace Blade towards another as he used his free right hand to enter the mutilated Dream Virus' body: he grinned and jumped away as it suddenly blew up: the Laplace Blade had beheaded another of them thus making it explode and had also severed the four legs of a third.

"What the…! Impossible!" "Demon Tribe Chief" gasped.

"Hah. Rubbish."

Burai plunged his right hand into the third Dream Virus to blow it up while the Laplace Blade cut off a fourth's arms and a fifth's hands: he rushed up to blow them up while the other three gathered together and shot three laser beams from their lower bodies' circle: Burai used his Laplace Blade to bounce them off and make the Dream Viruses hit their own chests: they blew up, too, while Burai recovered the Laplace Blade and calmly landed back on the Wave Road.

"I-impossible…! 8 of them…! And they didn't last even 3 minutes…! W-what the heck are ya?"

"A true warrior." He shrugged.

"Che. But I managed to stall for enough time…"

"What?"

"Demon God – sama is on its way here!"

"Hmpf. Let that thing come. I'll tear it apart, too."

"Hah! Demon God – sama's caliber is a hundred times different from the mass-produced Dream Viruses! Its mere power is enough to crush armies and drive anyone mad!" "Demon Tribe Chief" exclaimed.

"Boast while you can." Burai was unimpressed.

"Heh, heh, heh… Coming…." "Demon Tribe Chief" sounded eager.

"… This signature…! You lowlife weren't bluffing… It's… overwhelmingly powerful… even above Sirius…! It feels as powerful as Ra Mu…! Finally, I have a chance to take on a real enemy!" Burai looked thrilled and excited at the prospect.

"Young one! Remember your orders." A more manly voice rang out.

"Roger, _maou – sama_." "Demon Tribe Chief" confirmed.

"Che. This "Demon God" thing hides that newcomer's signature… But I only need to slice it on half to then find you lowlifes…"

"It won't be as easy as you believe, Mu's Burai! I was expecting you to show up here… And I've already calculated everything!"

A gigantic reddish hand with white-colored nerve-like patterns drawn upon it suddenly formed out of nowhere and closed around Burai while generating purple-colored electricity: Burai roared and seemed to suddenly become unconscious.

"A fool like that guy can't stand up to the Demon God! Apprentice! Bring this one to the research lab!"

19:31 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Heh, heh, heh… What a fool! He stepped straight into the trap we'd laid out… And he'll be useful once my little program is installed within him as a "Leveled – Up Boss", even! Heh, heh, heh."

"True, _maou – sama_!"

Two unidentified figures were looking towards a capsule-like device filled with a purple-tinted fluid: Burai was hovering inside of it while looking unconscious and an eight-pointed purple-colored star had formed on his helmet's forehead.

One of the silhouettes could be over a meter and eighty tall while the other looked like it wasn't even a meter and sixty tall: the second one was kneeling behind the first while the taller figure had a smug smile on its face.

The place seemed to be a large lab-like room filled with similar capsule-like devices interconnected with large wires to what seemed to be a large computer-like machine.

"Heh, heh, heh. And we'll stir a little ruckus before sending up the invasion expedition… And I wouldn't mind letting them come here: I've got plenty of "Enemies" to handle them… Let's finish setting up the decorations and everything… It'll be amusing to see how they can handle so many enemies and being so few of them." The taller figure announced.

"Brilliant, sir." The shorter figure bowed.

"I guess you know your place, don't you?"

"Yes, sir. _Maou – sama_ brought me back to life, thus I swear obedience to _Maou – sama_. We _elites_ abide by that rule."

"Good. That's the kind of reply I want to hear. I'll give you "Elites" some chances to play with those fools and bring them confidence. My interest is on luring out their repulsive Boss… I have a personal score to settle with that bothersome traitor."

"Roger, sir."

"Heh, heh, heh… What a fool that man was… Did he really think no – one would try to seize control of the faction emerging victorious from the war the remains of the "Secret Empire" are waging with each other? I have already done so to gain profits… And be glad I gave you one chance and didn't toss you there to be devoured, apprentice." The man began to sound amused before switching to an icy tone of voice.

"Thank you very much, sir."

"And let me remind you… If see the slightest hint of you going off-character, then I'll rewrite your personality and turn you into a mere doll sans emotions and thoughts. Get it?"

"Yes, sir. I get it, sir. I'll work 24/7 to accomplish our goals, sir."

"Fine. You can leave. I'll supervise the details."

"Roger, sir."

The shorter figure stood up, saluted and headed out of the room while the taller figure glanced over the right shoulder for a second before focusing on Burai again.

"The program finished installation… Well then… Let's grant it power… Hatred, grudge, anger, rage… They shall become your very existence, Burai… You will be ruled by them and you will dance to the tune of my ocarina… Then you will get rid of the main eyesores and my plan will proceed… You will be saved up as a useful tool to be used from time to time. And you will be example to my apprentice and the other three "Elites", too." The figure announced in an eager tone of voice.

The purple-like fluid suddenly began to flow inside of the jewel while a purplish halo formed around Burai: an inhuman roar louder and more imposing than that of a Dream Virus rang out.

"Demon God! Make this fool become your food. Seal up his everything and turn him into a shell! A shell to be ruled by us Demon Tribe! Guide us to a glorious future in which the worthless Earth will be ruled by us!"

The figure laughed aloud…

19:55 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Ya look worried again! What's the matter this time around?"

"Well…"

"Tsukasa again?"

"Yeah… I can't stop wondering what happened to him."

"Bah! He surely feels he's to blame and entered some monastery or another to switch off from tech. They say some of those are gaining popularity again amongst people who find this current society too vulnerable and easy to shake up…"

Subaru was sitting cross-legged on the upper part of his room and looking out to the dusk skies: War Rock was hovering close to the telescope and didn't seem to care for Subaru's worried face.

"Oh. I hadn't thought of that… Then… Maybe I need to wait. Maybe he'll clear up his ideas and come see me one day… I'd like to tell him I want to forgive him for what happened back then, because… "Hikaru" was the real culprit for that…" Subaru muttered.

"Yeah. And I'm gonna slice and dice across the air until Ox is no more than little bits! Nyah, hah, hah, hah, ha~h!"

"Really… When will you stop bringing up your rivalry with Ox, anyway? Or do you plan on pursuing that forever?" Subaru questioned.

"Try to guess, Mr. Universe!"

"Jeez. Anyway… I'll go hit the sack soon: even though tomorrow it's a Sunday, we gotta be ready if something happens."

"Something will happen: and that'll be Area L sneaking here to see your manly chest!" War Rock laughed.

"What point is there to it? Didn't we go to the beach in Shiisaa Island, anyway?" Subaru questioned.

"The scars!"

"The scars… I'd forgotten they were there, somehow. But I don't care: they've started to fade away. It's been almost one year, after all."

"But that Mode guy will try to convince her not to try so the excitement will be gone!"

"Where's the excitement in that, anyway?"

"Hah. Ask Daigo! See ya!"

War Rock suddenly ran outta the room while Subaru frowned and didn't seem to catch the point.

"I don't get the point and I doubt dad getting it, either." He dully muttered in an unimpressed manner.

He climbed down the stairs and checked a drawer to find his pajamas: he headed out of the room and returned soon enough after having changed into them: he took off the Visualizer glasses he usually carried above his forehead to leave them to the bunk's right: he pulled the covers up and found a note there:

"Dream of Area M's you-know-what-I'm-talking about!"

"… No. I don't know what you're talking about, Rock. And those nicknames sound too impersonal, too. If you wanna make jokes, try Akatsuki – san instead of me." Subaru drily complained.

He tossed the note asides and slipped inside before pulling the covers over his body.

"I've got a feeling like this is just a prologue to something bigger: who is that "Demon King" guy and what does he want? If he wants to play world ruler like King, then we'll bring him down, too." Subaru wondered aloud while sounding worried.

He finally sighed and closed his eyes to fall asleep: War Rock returned and grinned before entering his Hunter – VG.

_Heh, heh, heh! I'm a genius: Akatsuki agrees with my puns!_

He chuckled under his breath…


	4. Chapter 4: Teaming up

**Chapter 4: Teaming up**

08:33 AM (Japan Time), Sunday May the 23rd…

"… Oi! Subaru! Wake up!"

"Hmmm?"

"GROA~R!"

"Yikes!"

Subaru suddenly sat up on his bed while looking confused and startled: War Rock was hovering in front of him and looked serious.

"W-what's up?"

"An emergency!"

"So early in the morning?"

"Emergencies aren't gonna wait 'till 11:00 AM!"

"Guess so…"

"Blood called me: someone's stirring up a mess in Dealer's underground shelter, so get dressed, Denpa – Henkan and let's rush over there at light-speed!" War Rock rallied.

"Huh! Roger!"

Subaru jumped off the bed, picked his clothes, and then headed into the bathroom: War Rock hovered around the room in an impatient manner but Subaru soon ran out as he placed the Visualizer glasses on before stuffing his pajamas below the pillow.

"O. K! Let's go!"

"Oh yeah!"

"Denpa – Henkan! Hoshikawa Subaru, On Air!"

Rock Man came out into the street and then headed for the end of the alley between the school and Luna's apartment block.

"Let's use the Noise Wave to get to Okudama Studios and then pick their secret Noise Wave to reach the underground shelter… Are we supposed to meet up with Blood or what?" Rock Man asked.

"He's waiting there already: apparently Sigma is under maintenance and Omega was scouting the Black Hole Server… The other guys are busy with other stuff, so Boss finally decided to pick ya." War Rock replied.

"Good. Let's hurry…!"

Rock Man crossed through the first Noise Wave to come out next to the Okudama Studios' dummy car: he then rushed towards the area next to the event stage and accessed the second Noise Wave to end up exiting out into the underground shelter: Blood Shadow was standing next to the entrance doors which had been blown out.

"Good morning, Blood!"

"Ah! Subaru – kun. Sorry to drag you along, but Boss wouldn't feel at ease until I had a backup… And I don't complain: look at how our subject broke through the armored door…" Blood Shadow replied.

"Whoa. He's no joke: that door was very thick!"

"Heh! I'm boilin' with excitement already!"

"Cool it down, Rock…"

"O. K. Let's go inside and try to locate our subject." Blood Shadow rallied with a grin.

"Yessir!"

Both of them ran inside of the area and spotted how the upper section of the "Crimson Machine" was frizzling: the Crimson Tanks nearby were empty and only contained dust inside of them by now.

"We've gotta climb up all the way up there, but given how the machine is no longer messing with the Wave Road…" Blood Shadow muttered.

"This place still gives me the creeps, really… Anyway… Let's get there already and check it out."

Both quickly climbed up the Wave Road until they reached the uppermost section: they performed a "Cyber-In" to enter the "Cybernetics" and found a trail of destruction having been left in front of them plus a scandal coming from further inside.

"Still around… Let's be careful!" Blood Shadow warned.

"Let's approach from different angles: maybe we can try to negotiate with the person…" Rock Man suggested.

"Hra~h! Gua~h! Hya~h! Uo~h!" Someone roared.

"Freeze!"

"Don't move!"

Both Rock Man and Blood Shadow converged on the figure's position as it was bent on hitting the Mu Device over and over again: they aimed the weapons at it but they couldn't identify it given a purple-colored "aura" surrounding it: the figure did get to stop and gave them the back.

"That's no grunt, as we thought… The power levels are brutal." Blood Shadow analyzed.

"Who are you?" Rock Man demanded.

The figure turned around and the "aura" began to fade as it was "absorbed" by the body: Burai was standing there but he looked different given how his eyes glowed with purple light and they missed the usual trace of consciousness to them: he looked fierce and the eight-pointed-star-shaped jewel on his forehead emitted a faint purple glow.

"Burai? You came back? Are you alright?" Rock Man asked.

"Wait, Rock Man. His appearance reeks." Blood Shadow warned.

"Hey! When did you get that jewel thing, Burai?"

"… The aura he emits… It's not the normal Burai… I mean: he's the real one, yeah, but… He feels different."

"Burai? What's going on?"

"Gruh… Guh… Uh… Gua~h!"

Burai began to move his lips but only guttural sounds came out before he suddenly clutched his head with both hands and roared in agony: he warped and showed up behind Rock Man: he began to try to choke him from behind but Blood Shadow punched him on the left cheek to distract him: Rock Man shook him free and coughed to recover his breath while Blood Shadow placed the barrels of his shotgun on Burai's stomach area while looking annoyed.

"You're not Burai, so… Charged shotgun shot!"

The blast sent Burai flying across the air and landing, hard, into the ground, he recovered sooner than one would believe and ran towards Blood Shadow while having his Laplace Blade drawn.

"Gura~h!"

"Drill Arm X!"

Rock Man suddenly stepped into his path and hit him with the Drill Arm X: Burai was pushed backwards and stunned while Rock Man's Libra Noise was triggered.

"Meteor Light Barrage!"

The barrage of attacks hit Burai and Blood Shadow rushed in while having drawn a Sword Fighter X Battle Card: he struck Burai several times before they pushed him back: Burai panted and looked like he could barely stand up anymore.

"Burai! What's going on? What happened yesterday?" Rock Man called out.

"That jewel… I see. Someone actually captured him and he's been equipped with a program to remotely control him… So we should try to weaken him, recapture him, and remove the program." Blood Shadow analyzed.

"Hah. I can't let happen. This fool is a high-quality tool." A man's voice suddenly rang out of Burai's throat.

"You're hijacking some of his brain functions, too?" Rock Man demanded while sounding annoyed.

"Correct."

"And you're that Demon King guy?"

"Hah. True. I am the Great Demon King! This worthless world shall soon be weakened by my expeditionary force… You lowlifes have less than six days starting today to fool around… Heh, heh, heh." The man chuckled.

"We're so scared, really." Rock Man drily told him.

"Hmpf. That bothersome man has been teaching you lowlifes to act unimpressed but I know better! You lowlifes will soon tremble in fear when my forces sweep through those useless defenses!"

"You know about Boss?" Blood Shadow questioned.

"I've done my research."

"And you're a human or a Wizard?"

"Think what you want to, you bunch of fools. For the time being, I'm going to push this tool to the limit. Here it comes!"

"Gu… Ku… Grua~h!"

Burai roared as the "aura" formed around him again: he suddenly warped in front of Rock Man and swung the Laplace Blade aimed at his neck: Rock Man ducked and then shot a charged shot at Burai to stun him momentarily: Blood Shadow jumped into the fray again while having his shotgun loaded up.

"Charged shotgun shot!"

The blast damaged Burai and he switched his target to Blood Shadow: he tried to behead him but Blood Shadow brought up his shotgun to block the sword and deliver a kick to his lower jaw: he then tried to aim for the jewel but some kind of force field formed around it.

"I knew it! That's the keystone." Blood Shadow guessed.

"Giza Wheel X!"

Rock Man shot the Giza Wheel X at Burai's back to distract him so that Blood Shadow could attack him again by punching his stomach area: Burai jumped atop the Mu Device and didn't seem to be able to process how to handle both of them at the same time.

"Che. Bothersome man! Sending two of you lowlifes… Whatever! This was just a test of what I can do. And this is just the beginning of my glorious campaign!" The man exclaimed.

He suddenly jumped skywards and disappeared from inside of the "Cybernetics" to the relief of both fighters.

"Okay. So this guy was somehow able to capture Burai and has turned him into a puppet to provoke us… And it'd seem he's gonna strike on either Friday or Saturday…" Blood Shadow summed up.

"Yeah… I got that same vibe, too. And we must have to take in the possibility of the guy being a Wizard, too." Rock Man sighed.

"Oi! Subaru! The phone!" War Rock announced.

"Who's calling?"

"Area M is ringing." War Rock laughed.

"Jeez. You mean Misora – chan."

"So?" War Rock asked.

"So what?" Rock Man frowned.

"Are ya gonna check out ya-know-what?"

"Never."

"Never ever?"

"Never ever."

"Heh, heh, heh. Ya never know."

"Jeez."

Rock Man gave him the back and connected the call.

"Subaru – kun? Where are you?" Misora asked.

"Dealer's hideout, with Blood… Burai was here but he's been turned into a puppet by that Demon King guy."

"I see… I'd gone to the Kazimura Mansion but Dr. Lartes told me you'd gone into a mission." Misora told him.

"Oi! Misora! Subaru is aiming for ya-know-what!" War Rock joked.

"I don't believe it." Misora looked unimpressed.

"No wonder." Blood Shadow muttered.

"Pororon! I still don't get what does that mean." Harp protested.

"Don't mind it, Harp. It's a human matter." Misora replied.

"Guess so…"

"Oi! Wanna know something? _Iinchou_ uses _Channel XVI_!"

"So?" Misora asked.

"Pick _Channel XVII_ to be one step higher!" War Rock suggested.

"Those perfumes don't exist to begin with."

"Pity. They'd been fitting!"

"Fitting or not… I never use perfume."

"Well then… _Iinchou_ uses make-up! She put some on when we went to Okudama Studios to take part in your drama series as extras!" War Rock let out with a grin.

"Well… Luna – chan's background is different from mine, so… I despise make-up and try to avoid having to use it unless the make-up Wizard insists on it." Misora shrugged.

"I'll go report to Akatsuki – san."

"Good. I'll go report to Boss, then."

"Boss a bossing bossy?" War Rock laughed.

"That sounds pointless. You haven't endured almost four months with Omega – san's crazy humor day after day." Rock Man challenged War Rock.

"Please… And when Sigma tags in, they both get unbearable."

"No wonder…" Misora shrugged.

"Oi! Subaru! Tell Claw Man to get lost in Alaska!"

"It's not "Claw Man": he's named "Acid", you know!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Strong strongest stronger!"

"Don't joke with Strong. I don't wanna remember what happened in Shiisaa Island." Rock Man grumbled.

"You mean when Gonta's pants' gum ripped to the horror of _iinchou_ and how Queen Tia looked on without caring about it?"

"I didn't mean that."

"Ah. Well then… Ahem, ahem! Bertie! Bring Clark Kent – sama the elixir of eternal life!" War Rock laughed.

"You ripped that off from Omega – san… Are you ever going to be original, Rock?" Rock Man questioned.

"Pororon! I doubt it, really." Harp commented.

"Che. Everyone's boycotting me."

"That's because it's not the time to troll…" Blood Shadow began,

"… And we've got serious stuff going on, too…"Misora continued.

"… Pororon! And, given those points, ya should think of telling your humor sense to pack up." Harp finished.

Rock Man sighed and then looked around the area.

_Burai… Just what happened to you?_

09:11 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Even if I recalled this guy, that doesn't mean the experiment is a failure by any means. On the contrary: I've proven that I have total control over this tool and it'll eventually become useful when we start the Desert Campaign…"

"I see, Master. I have a report about the expeditionary force: 80% of it is assembled and ready… The remaining 20% should be ready in less than 36 hours, Master…"

"Not bad. I see you've been working nonstop to have them ready with enough anticipation."

"Thank you for your compliments, Master."

The unidentified "Demon King" was standing inside of the lab-like room and looking at Burai's unconscious form inside of the capsule-like device built there: he looked satisfied while the shorter figure was kneeling behind it: "Demon King" did look in a good mood.

"But this won't suffice, you guys know that. I will not fully trust you guys until the very end… If you guys still revere me upon being deleted in battle, then I will accept that you did follow my command and never once tried to rebel from it… Get it, apprentice?" He announced.

"I've known it from the very beginning, Master, sir. I always take that into mind, sir."

"Good. That's what I want to hear. Straight to the point… Keep working on the expeditionary force… I want to have them ready and be conscious of what they need to do by the time they land on Earth to challenge the Satella Police and the repulsive "Subspace" organization… And if that isn't enough, then… Let them come. A long and arduous guerilla campaign awaits them and they won't be able to strike at the very core without having been worn out first."

"A brilliant strategy, sir. I shall go and resume working on the expeditionary fleet to have it ready before the expedition's departure day, Master…"

"Good. Go work on it."

"Roger."

The shorter figure stood up, saluted, and then ran out while Demon King formed a smug smile.

"Having a mere servant with no capacity to learn or understand what needs to be done would be boring, or so I was taught. I'll follow on the principles granted to me to increase my power and bring defeat to that repulsive man… Hah. Who needs to listen out to their pathetic "reasons" and "excuses", anyway? It's a waste of time! Normal evil geniuses don't need some stupid introductory speech… Coming out of the unexpected direction and delivering a critical if not mortal hit… That's the style a villain should have. Being the scriptwriter I am… Heh, heh, heh."

The man then walked out of the room, down a metallic corridor which was badly lit, and into a round chamber having a square platform in the middle of it: a black onyx throne had been erected there so the man sat down on it and laughed.

"This is the real feeling of power! I control this scorched planet devoid of any natural life through my "Demon Tribe Army"! This "Demon Tribe Army" shall bring war to any repulsive fools who dare to step into MY planet and MY territory! Hah!"

The man made a gesture with his right hand to bring up some images of Earth and the Moon.

"Hmpf. Countless fools living there who walk the streets up and down doing their selfish and mundane things… They'll soon be hit by a "Space Hammer" which will make them realize that, in their arrogance, never bothered to check for other potential extraterrestrial forces capable of hitting them apart from the FMs… Foolish humans… Take in my punishment! This world shall fall under our rule and become the Demon World! You've been too lax in the past decades… It's about time we fixed that!" The man exclaimed.

He laughed aloud in an evil tone of voice…


	5. Chapter 5: Expeditionary force

**Chapter 5: Expeditionary force**

18:08 PM (Japan Time), Friday May the 28th…

"… Warning. Warning."

"What's going on?"

"I don't know yet!"

"Multiple unidentified signatures detected in approach to the outer atmosphere in a crash course… Dimensions: four meters tall per two wide…"

"I guess I know who's come to say hi."

"No good…!"

The WAXA staff had been mobilized when alarms rang out and they gathered around the central table: Shidou seemed to guess what was going on and he shrugged.

"Analysis suggests that all objects will drop down in Honshu… They seem to have the ability to correct course!" One Wizard reported.

"Obviously… "Demon King" has opened the gates of Hell and now the thriving monsters inside of it are rushing out." Shidou grinned.

"Akatsuki… Are you planning on doing something reckless again?" Queen Tia questioned.

"Come on! I wanted to see you smile and the only thing I get from you is sarcasm, coldness and you seem to wanna play orbiting satellite, too, around Misora." Shidou sighed.

"I am not called _Queen_ Tia for nothing."

"I know that!"

"You're not proving it."

"Oh! Virgo's Ghost! Over there!"

"What?"

Everyone looked towards the west side of the room but the only thing to be seen was the plain wall: they looked towards the table again only to spot that Shidou had snuck out.

"Hmpf." Queen Tia was unimpressed.

"That guy…" Jack muttered.

"Akatsuki – kun… When will you stop wanting to make dramatic exits from the HQ?" The WAXA Chief wondered.

"These children…" Dr. Yoiri muttered.

"Eh… S-should w-we g-go, t-too…?" Utagai Shinsuke timidly asked.

"Go, Utagai – kun." Amachi Mamoru encouraged.

"T-thank you very m-much…"

"You'll be alright, Utagai." Daigo smiled at him.

"Will you please stop making your teeth dance? It's not like we live in the North Pole, right?" Cygnus asked.

"S-sorry…" Utagai apologized.

"No need to."

"BRAINSSSS!"

"Yikes!"

The air display turned on to display a crowd of zombies which seemingly were trying to attack the presents in the room: a giggle rang out followed by a growl of annoyance.

"OMEGA!" Vadous' voice roared.

"Ops. Clark Kent found me out." Omega laughed.

"Go intercept those invaders NOW!"

"Sure, _shachou_."

Everyone rolled their eyes while Vadous growled in the background…

18:39 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Mad Vulcan X!"

"Hah. Worthless!"

Rock Man was facing off against one opponent in Shiisaa Island's beach: the skies had clouded and it menaced to rain at any moment as if reflecting the state of things.

"You lowlife won't be able to defeat DS Blues – sama so easily!"

His opponent was a humanoid "Darkloid" who appeared to be over a meter and sixty tall: he had a wild flock of silver hair which came out from behind the helmet and covered all of his body's back.

His helmet's main color was blood red as well, yet the inner edges surrounding his thick red shades had a tint of purple to them: a purple band formed on the forehead and circled the whole diameter of it: two valley-shaped cavities had been inserted into the sides of it and they ended in golden circles: a "fin" sprouted from the top of the helmet thus giving it a menacing-like look.

His main "skin" color was black, yet his upper torso had red blood armor built over it: there were two black shapes drawn over the shoulders having a golden rim and a thin black line spread from the base of the neck to the lower edge of the armor.

An emblem with a black edge was set on the chest: it consisted of white and black halves split by a thunderbolt-shaped line: white was golden and silver was right.

The forearms were colored blood red and had two purple-colored parallel formations which originated at the sides of the emblem atop each hand's palm: they spread over the edge of the forearm while forming a pyramid-like shape.

His right forearm currently held a purple-colored Long Sword with a customized hilt.

The central body of the forearm was now colored metallic gray.

It had two purple circles colored yellow inside.

A purplish-colored blade emerged around a cone-shaped purple-colored formation: the blade looked sharp and menacing for some reason or another.

His boots began slightly below the knee and had purple-colored diamond-like shapes which extended as high as the knee: they were colored blood red as well: the soils were colored purple, too.

"So you're the "Commander" of this "Expeditionary Force", then?" Rock Man questioned.

"Yeah! _Maou - sama_ granted me this honor after I proved myself to be above the other candidates: and he gave me direct instructions regarding you lowlife… Who'd said a gnat like you lowlife could get so far…? But that's because of that alien over there." DS Blues calmly announced.

"Hah! If ye look down on War Rock – sama then ya will regret it later, punk jerk!" War Rock laughed.

"Hmpf. Boast you while can." DS Blues challenged.

"Wha~t?" War Rock growled.

"Cool it, Rock. I'm not falling for that trap. If we could beat Apollon Flame and Sirius, we can beat this guy, too." Rock Man tried to cool him down somehow.

"Hah! I like that better."

"I won't be so over-confident like those fools. My power is limitless." He boasted next.

"Joker said the Meteor Server's power was limitless, too."

"Che. Someone robbed the glory off me…"

"Sword Fighter X!"

"Sword for a sword!"

Rock Man tried to deliver the different sets of attacks to the adversary but he effortlessly blocked them without sweating, even.

"Hah. I'm the expert in swords!"

"Then… Drill Arm X!"

"Crap!"

Rock Man quickly attacked with the Drill Arm X: he switched to Libra Noise and began to move around faster while DS Blues shook the attack off and growled.

"Change of plans, then!"

He cancelled the blade but kept the right forearm's custom form: he began to load up red-colored energy to then shoot out a red sphere of energy which hit Rock Man and paralyzed him: DS Blues suddenly warped in front of him and drew the blade again which he aimed at his neck.

"_Okubi choudai_!"

"What's that?" War Rock asked.

"Crap… "I'll slice your neck!"…" Rock Man gasped in fear.

"Calling on Trouble~!" A voice rang out.

BLOF! PAF! SPLASH!

"Yo! Bertie – chan! Uncle Omega came to save your sacred hide from the barbarians!"

"Omega – san…! That wasn't funny, sir!"

"Heh! Not bad."

Omega had suddenly showed up in front of Rock Man while having his arms folded and looking amused: Rock Man looked exasperated by his humor while War Rock grinned.

"Where did the invader go to, though?" Rock Man wondered while scanning the beach.

"Ya can't come to Shiisaa Island in summer and not have a bath on its pristine beaches!" Omega shrugged.

"Heh. Gotcha." War Rock grinned.

"You lowlife~!"

DS Blues jumped out of the water while holding his sword up and heading towards Omega: the later grinned and, in a blur, drew an emerald-colored pyramid-shaped saber weapon on his right hand which he used to block the incoming attack without even bothering to change his pose.

"What the…! Impossible!" DS Blues growled.

"So, your Boss is a guy on his 60s who has seen _The Devil's Advocate_ by Al Pacino a 100 times over?" Omega taunted.

"_Maou _– sama isn't even 30, fool!"

"Hmmm… 25?"

"Che! Insulting _maou_ – sama…!"

"23?"

"Hmpf!"

"My, my. This is getting interesting. You know who Burai is?" Omega questioned next.

"_Maou_ – _sama_'s guinea pig!"

"And he's been given a golden room?" Omega sarcastically asked.

"No! The guy is locked up in the lab's capsule!"

"So he did build a lab… And he has a stone statue of himself there, too, to look cool?"

"Ask His Grace!"

"I'll do that when I rip off his pointless cape."

"You lowlife!"

"Have a bath."

BLOF! PAF! SPLASH!

"Guah!"

"Hah! Take that!"

DS Blues jumped off the water again but Omega took one step backwards to make him crash against the Real Wave decoration: it broke down into raw data and he groaned as he tried to free himself: he now looked rather angered.

"Enough games! Activate! Dark Chip! Hra~h!"

A purple "aura" formed around DS Blues and he seemed to become fiercer all of a sudden: he warped and appeared behind Rock Man, trying to choke him, but Rock Man bent forward and threw the enemy into the ground using what seemed to be a _judo_ technique: Omega then tossed an Ice Grenade into the ground to trap DS Blues inside of a mass of ice.

"That won't hold him at bay for long, but at least we have a chance to recover… Rock Man! Try to put some strong Battle Cards, especially Breaker – Type, into the Folder while I keep him busy: we'll try to lower his HP and capture him." Omega instructed after turning serious.

"Roger, sir!"

Rock Man quickly began to type into the Real Wave screen while the ice shattered: DS Blues broke free and jumped towards Omega: but Omega had drawn a gun-like object which was seemingly loading up white plasma on its muzzle: he shot a blast which hit the right shoulder: DS Blues roared in agony and collapsed into the ground while clutching it.

"W-why, you…!" He cursed.

"So… How many of you guys came here today?"

"11!"

"Good. Then we've got an adversary for each of them since I came here straight after beating a guy named Sword Man.

"Sword Man?" Rock Man wondered.

"The guy had a sword-like body and three "head-swords" with a different personality each… And if there's a Demon King, then… There's a Demon Tribe Chief as well, right?"

"Che! Who knows! Die!"

DS Blues tried to attack but collapsed on the attempt given the damage to his right shoulder.

"Y-you lowlifes…!" He roared.

Omega calmly gripped his helmet with the right hand and it began to glow: DS Blues roared and tried to shake it off.

"Hmmm… The guy sits on a throne and seems to wear some kind of body armor… But he has no visible emblems and his face is covered by the poor lighting of the throne room… He has heard rumors of the Demon Tribe Chief but doesn't know his appearance… Obviously enough, the villain was careful in not letting any hints behind." Omega explained.

"I see." Rock Man muttered.

Omega let go of the guy and shrugged: DS Blues suddenly managed to jump into the air and tried to kick Omega's forehead: he stepped to the left to make him miss and hit the sandy floor instead.

"Hell! I'm discrediting myself!" DS Blues cursed.

"No wonder. Mr. Universe would rather pick a more cool-headed guy with some sense of humor. And you don't have that." Omega shrugged.

"And there he went claiming he wasn't overconfident…" Rock Man drily muttered while looking unimpressed.

"Then I'll delete you lowlifes in one attack! Hra~h! Self-destruct program: execute!"

"Crap!" Both gasped.

"DIE~!"

DS Blues' chest emblem emitted purple streaks of light and his whole body was surrounded by purplish energy before it blew up in an explosion which swept through the beach and hit both of them: Rock Man was sent flying and crashed against the handrails of the concrete avenue: Omega crashed against two hammocks instead and groaned: the only thing left where DS Blues had been standing at was a smoking crater.

"Che… Bothersome clever guy!" Omega growled.

"That sounds manlier." Vadous calmly told him.

"Guess I've gotta get serious or they won't take me seriously."

"About time you realized, too."

"But you'll have to try to stop Dragon from inventing "cold dogs" next time around…" Omega formed a smug smile.

"Ugh. I need to splash him with cold water, really." Vadous muttered.

"Yeah… No – one would want that…" Rock Man muttered next.

"Invent Dog Man." War Rock laughed.

"Not ya too, Rock…"

"Good news: all other enemies have been defeated by now. We can take a break before trying to decide if we should storm the planet. Something tells me some surprises await us there. And let Devil bite me if I'm wrong on that." Vadous reported.

"Surprise Man must be hard at work." Omega grinned.

"Stop making up lame name and get back here."

"Roger, _shachou_."

"I'm not the _shachou_ of any company."

"But we've got _company_, so…"

"I get the pun." Vadous grumbled.

"Yo! Bertie~! Saxby will come at you!"

"No way, sir…"

"Oho. Hibiki will claim reversal of roles and try to find out the color of your secret weapon." Omega joked next.

Rock Man turned deep red and looked at the ground while being seemingly overwhelmed by the joke: War Rock laughed at it, Omega grinned and Vadous growled something under his breath.

"OMEGA! COME BACK NOW!"

"Roger. Later, Bertie – chan!"

Omega entered a purple portal-like opening which formed behind him while Rock Man looked like he was still overwhelmed.

"Yo! Subaru! There's no law forbidding Misora from checking out your secret weapon!" War Rock laughed.

"No way…" Rock Man groaned.

"Heh, heh, heh… Omega's a genius, yessir."

Rock Man didn't move yet and didn't notice Harp Note coming there.

"Subaru – kun? Shouldn't we hurry up to WAXA HQ?" She called out.

"Huh! Eh… Yeah… Sorry. I was tired." Rock Man gasped.

"Nope! He's afraid you're gonna check out his secret weapon's color!"

"Jeez! War Rock! You can't joke with that!" Harp Note protested.

"Pororon! And, as usual, I dunno what you guys mean." Harp muttered.

"I know you wouldn't do that, Harp Note… Omega – san just has the mania of trying to tease me… I hope Boss fixes that soon…"

"No wonder… Let's go and ignore those badly improvised jokes."

"Don't be surprised if ya get into trouble with Queen Tia one day, though, Misora…" War Rock joked.

"... Hmpf. I'm not impressed anymore. Let's go back already! JEEZ!"


	6. Chapter 6: Zenay III

**Chapter 6: Zenay III**

21:15 PM (Japan Time), Friday May the 28th…

"… _Maou – sama_. The expeditionary force has been defeated."

"Hmpf. It'd seem I looked down on those guys, then."

The "apprentice" was kneeling in front of the throne belonging to "Demon King" as it was surrounded by blackness thus hiding most of his form: the man sounded slightly annoyed.

"We shall not offer any excuses."

"Quit it. You guys are not to blame."

"But it was our responsibility to build and program the members of the expeditionary force, sir…"

"I know that. But I gave you insufficient parameters..."

"Ah. I understand, sir…"

"Hmmm… Bah. I'm tired of looking like a coward hiding behind a planetary defense shield system… Let them come! We'll unleash ALL programs including "Boss – Class" programs… I'll give you guys the data on the locations you should be placing them into."

"Roger, sir."

"That bothersome man… He'll send his agents and "allies" to do the dirty works while he looks on from orbit… Whatever. I'll end up drawing him out sooner or later. The fool believes he's invincible but that's where he's mistaken: I AM invincible!" The man exclaimed as he violently stood up and brandished his right fist in a menacing move.

The "apprentice" made no comment while the man quickly paced around the throne while looking angered or annoyed: he then sat down on the throne again and mumbled.

"Scram."

"Roger, sir."

The "apprentice" stood up, saluted, and ran out of the room while the man brought up a holographic screen with data on it.

"Act the ignorant all you want! You lowlife know perfectly where I got these programs from and most of their names and abilities… You can fool those idiots, but you can't fool me. I haven't crossed the Space – Time in vain… My "escape" was perfect and those fools were left with the confidence that I was dead. Hah. What bothersome foolish guys! Once I finish up settling the score with that repulsive man, then I'll come back with enough data and weapons to impose my true rule over there… I'll firstly try it here. If it doesn't work, we'll make another experiment before finally "returning" to the place I almost managed to rule!" The man exclaimed aloud.

He moved his fingers and drew the Alphabet letters "IQ" in the screen using a pale blue color.

"Ice Queen – sama! Thou gave me my _raison d'être _and I am fulfilling it unlike that miserable traitor who dared to rebel against thou absolute role…! Once that man is out of the picture, I shall free thou figure from that place he dared to close thou grace into…!" He muttered while forming a grimace.

He switched off the screen and fumed as he brought down both fists into the armrests: he growled and stood up again.

"No! No more fits of anger…! They make me look like an idiot! And I won't allow that no matter what! I'll use my power to personally destroy that repulsive man! And, for the time being, I can keep "apprentice" and the "elites" as they are: they seem to be genuinely afraid of my threats… No… They're afraid of having to plunge into that black abyss where their existence fades out into nothing again… And there's nothing which they'll find worth trying to "protect" anyway… _That man_ may have not been fooled, but it's impossible for him to follow me all the way here! He won't be able to manipulate the "elites" to fit his ends… And I don't trust him: he seems to be not caring for what happens to the "Secret Empire"… Maybe I should've tried to dispose of him back then, but… Bah. Whatever. He's a lesser eyesore, after all!"

"Hroa~h!" Burai's voice suddenly rang out.

"What?" The man gasped.

There was a large sound which sounded like an explosion: Burai suddenly appeared inside of the room while panting and looking like he was barely managing to stand.

"Y-you lowlife…! Trying to… control me…! To… turn me into a puppet…! You lowlife…! I'll… I'll… annihilate you lowlife…! And destroy this worthless device…!" He cursed.

"Hmpf. Foolish one!" The man grinned.

"Shut up…! Shut up…! SHUT UP!" Burai roared.

He gripped his skull with both hands as the jewel on his forehead glowed and pulsated: the mysterious red-colored hand suddenly appeared out of nowhere and headed for Burai.

"You lowlife…! I feel it…! You lowlife's true identity…! You lowlife were the responsible for the incident last time around…!" Burai suddenly looked towards the corridor.

"Heh. Catching up, Burai?" The man grinned.

"You lowlifes…! Die~!"

Burai tried to hit the hand but it vanished and a second one appeared behind him: he gasped and lost balance for a split second before recovering it: he dashed forward towards the man while brandishing the Laplace Blade.

"DIE~!"

"Hmpf. Useless."

A purple barrier formed around the man and it was able to repel Burai: one of the hands suddenly aimed the index finger at the jewel which began to pulsate with a higher intensity: Burai collapsed into his knees and tried to hit the jewel with the left hand only for a small barrier to form there and repel it.

"No…! I'm a prideful warrior…! The last survivor of Mu…! I can't let a lowlife like this one…! Control me…! No Demon God will be able to control my will…!" Burai muttered.

"Did you think you lowlife would be able to escape so easily from me? I'm not a criminal mastermind in vain, Burai."

"You lowlife~! I'll annihilate you lowlife~!"

The hand suddenly closed around Burai and he roared as purple electricity travelled across his body: he ended up limp and hung his head down while being seemingly unconscious.

"Apprentice. What happened?"

"I'm n-not sure, Master…! I was on the way to my quarters when this happened…! I barely came close to the lab's door, sir…!" The "apprentice" reported as he rushed in and kneeled.

"Hmpf. Then this guy's mental strength was higher than I expected… But I should've seen it coming from a prideful guy like this one… I'll make sure to build a stronger capsule… And something tells me this'll be like a drug's effects… He'll build up resistance to the knockout discharge and it'll take higher power to knock him out… This is going to be painful but I won't discard such a valuable tool in a foolish manner…" The man deduced aloud.

"Eh… How should we…?" The "apprentice" asked.

"I'll do it. You guys go revise the data of the expeditionary force and find out who faced who." The man commanded.

"Roger, sir…"

The "apprentice" ran out while the man snapped his right hand's fingers: the hand carried Burai down the corridor as the man calmly followed it while mumbling under his breath.

_I've got to work on something to keep this guy under control or else he'll destroy the whole floating fortress… Bothersome meddling guy! Nobody laughs at my face!_

21:29 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Let's see…"

The "apprentice" was sitting on a chair inside of a metallic sterile room with a device set on the far wall: he interacted with it to bring up a Real Wave screen displaying some data.

"Hmmm… That Omega guy battled Sword Man… Total battle time: 1 minute 36 seconds and Sword Man barely inflicted 200 HP to the guy of a total of 2000…! Huh. That Omega guy sure is terrific." He muttered with a hint of nervousness.

He brought up another screen displaying Blood Shadow.

"Blood Shadow battled Bubble Man… A small Navi who looks like a diver with the oxygen tank and so… He speaks using the "puku" sound and is rather silly, so I'm glad we got rid of him… Total battle time: 1 minute 48 seconds… He could inflict 150 HP out of 1800…"

He began to look amused as he brought a photo of Sigma looming over someone and looking sinister.

"Sigma battled Elec Man… He has voltage controller – like objects on his back and handles electricity… Total battle time: 1 minute 25 seconds… He inflicted 220 HP out of 1900, it'd seem, so… Not bad."

The next image was that of Rock Man: the "apprentice" formed an ever broader grin.

"Rock Man! Our so – called "hero"… Oho. DS Blues managed to inflict 460 HP out of 1000 HP! If we discount the idle time and rest the time after Omega appeared… 2 minutes 7 seconds… Heh, heh, heh…"

Harp Note's image came on next and the guy lifted his eyebrows while being seemingly surprised.

"Harp Note… Battle Gyro Man, a chopper-shaped Darkloid with the capacity of switching to a small helicopter form… Total time: 1 minute 55 seconds and inflicted 310 HP out of 900! He did a good work, really! I'll praise him!"

He giggled as he examined imagery from Acid Ace.

"Super Hero – sama… He faced Magic Man, who wears attire similar to a wizard's and can summon Viruses at random… Total time: 1 minute 11 seconds and he barely inflicted 190 HP out of 1200! Whoa! He sure was fast…" He muttered with a hint of surprise.

The next one to come up was Cancer Bubble.

"He speaks using "buku", huh… Guess Water-Elemental programs will always speak like that… His opponent was Heat Man: a lighter – shaped Net Navi… He had the advantage, so it's no wonder he won in 52 seconds and Heat Man couldn't even get past the 50 HP out of 700! They'll surely seek to exploit elemental weaknesses, obviously enough! Luckily, I don't have one, so… Heh, heh, heh."

He pressed a button on the Real Wave screen and examined Cygnus Wing's footage.

"Timid and has trouble shaking off fear… He faced Blast Man: a guy who fears nothing and is fond of quick Flame Elementla attacks! Total time: 2 minutes 38 seconds… Inflicted damage: 400 HP out of 850… Not bad at all, Blast Man! I'll praise you." He laughed.

Ox Fire was the next fighter to come up.

"Ox Fire… May look blunt and not much of a threat, but… He managed to defeat Wood Man, a tree-shaped program, easily given his elemental advantage! Total battle time was just 46 seconds and Wood Man didn't even take off 90 HP out of 660 HP… Maybe he wanted to play Devil? Heh, heh, heh!" He giggled at his own irony.

Wolf Forest's intimidating form showed up onscreen: he howled and brought up his shining claws.

"Wolf Forest! He faced Thunder Man, a guy who looks like a mummy given his outer covering and specializes in electricity, too! Our Lobezno wannabe swept up the guy in 58 seconds with only getting 100 HP of damage out of a total of 970 HP… My, my! We're having bad luck with the elemental disadvantages!"

He shrugged and snapped his right hand's fingers to display Crown Thunder's form.

"What… A skeleton with a cloak and a crown…? He looks so silly! And I dunno how he managed to resonate with a dead guy, too… I guess he's an ironic guy… Who was his opponent again? Aqua Man: a small program having a bubble-shaped helmet and his face is filled with water… What a bad stroke of elemental weakness! Total time: 1 minute 11 seconds! And also… He inflicted 220 HP out of 1100, so… Not bad. Let's switch to the last one already!" He looked amused upon seeing the imagery.

The last one to come up was Moon Disaster.

"What kind of motto is "YO, YO, YO!" about, anyway? But I'm sure the guy brings disasters wherever he goes to, anyway! His opponent was Magnet Man: he's shaped like a magnet and can create a "Double" of opposite polarity to strike as two of them… Total time: 2 minutes 49 seconds and he inflicted 500 HP out of 1100… And, with this… We're done!"

He switched off the screen and stretched as he stood up and paced around the room while seemingly reflecting.

"Elemental weakness will be a problem but we can't predict how many of them will come… Maybe they'll leave a good bunch of them on Earth to protect it just in case… Ya know the motto: "don't place all the eggs in one canister"… Heh, heh, heh…"

He sat down again and leant his elbows over his hips while he leant his jaw on his open palms: he suddenly sighed and didn't look so thrilled anymore as he glanced around.

"… I don't know yet, but… Back then… I sacrificed myself, yet… I guess Rock Man will be opponent and he might try to avoid totally defeating me… But maybe I won't have any other choice in the matter, either… What should I do? Nor like I can choose out of my own will… Master gave me life and I owe him this… I wouldn't be surprised if he's placed safeguards on my body like a program to remotely control me or a bomb to destroy me like he did with the other "Darkloids"… But what can I expect from a man with such background, anyway?"

He sighed and looked at the ground while being seemingly lost in thoughts: he quickly stood up and tiptoed out of his room into the metallic corridor: he stood still but the only sounds to be perceived were some mechanical hums: he headed to the left and stepped through a broken door into the lab-like room containing the capsule with Burai trapped inside: several metallic restrains were closed around his body while some wires with a sensor on their end were placed over his body.

"… Burai… He refuses to work with anyone and claims to survive using his own power… He sees Rock Man as a rival to him and has some kind of "respect" for him… But he looks down on everyone anyway because he claims being stronger than them…" He muttered.

He timidly placed the palm of his right hand over the glass as he stared at his unconscious form.

"… But I can't be like him. He had a tragic life. I've barely been alive for a few months ever since I was "resurrected" by Master once he built this facility… There are other "Darkloids" and "Bosses" scattered around this planet, yet… They all bow before me because I am the "Demon Tribe Chief" to them who delivers orders from Master, "Demon King – sama", so… Maybe F. will be some I can speak with to shake off my doubts? Or Solid and Liquid could do, too. Solid usually seeks to speak with me because he has more or less the same kind of doubts which end up plaguing me… Yeah… I'll talk with Solid later on and maybe we'll try to see another point of view to our existences…" He muttered aloud as if reflecting.

He stepped out of this room and headed further left and then to the north: he climbed up a metallic ramp and entered a new room which had a large curved viewing window which allowed one to witness a mountain range delimited by a desert: a sandstorm was ongoing down there but it didn't hit the place.

"This planet announces death… Desert, heat, high carbon dioxide levels and other dangers… There are traps everywhere, "studio sets" filled with "Bosses" ready to make mincemeat of anyone who tries to come here and explore this planet…"

He looked up to the skies: there wasn't a cloud in sight and a bright sun was illuminating everything.

"Also… The gravity tunnel which is focused around the planet… Any ship would be pulled in and torn apart to never lift off again… But their HQ will detect that and keep a safe distance from it… And given how the planetary defense shield system is still up, any meteors and such are vaporized upon contact with it… Deserts scatter through almost all of the planet's surface and very little oceanic mass… Those seas are cold and their depths house terrific predators…" He described aloud.

"What… Planning on making an audio guide of the planet?"

The "apprentice" gasped when the man stepped into the room: he quickly kneeled and lowered his sigh but the man made a dismissing gesture.

"Master…" He muttered.

"I don't care if you want to make monologues. It's a proof of your intelligence and I respect that."

"… Thank you very much, sir. I apologize if I didn't…"

"You needn't ask permission if you want to come up into the observation deck… That's why I built it: you guys can come here to reflect and chat."

"I understand, sir…"

"Heh, heh, heh… Those fools will come but will be unable to directly storm this floating fortress… They'll have to go through the "stages" and defeat the "Bosses" firstly… I'll slowly wear them down and force them into tight spots to make them taste desperation…" The man grinned.

"Brilliant, sir…"

"They'll surely come tomorrow morning… And I've decided on who will be the reception committee already because I suspect they'll send a pair of scouts to make a preliminary inspection of the terrain from the Wave Roads… But once you cut off their wings then they'll have to sweat and suffer to get anywhere… Heh, heh, heh… I'm sure IQ – sama would love to see them struggle…"

"I have never had the honor of meeting such an important person but I'm sure it would be proud." The "apprentice" bowed.

"Is the morale high?"

"Yes, sir… I told the other Darkloids that the expeditionary force had failed but they didn't care about it because they want to prove they'll be stronger than them… I supplied them with two Dark Chips given how we have an infinite stock thanks to the "Demon God", sir…"

"Heh, heh, heh… And my power will steadily grow as they are defeated by them… You'll drive Rock Man towards fear and chaos… Attack his weak points: he can be easily misled into "anger" which will drive him mad and leave open to a critical blow…"

"T-then… I'm supposed to d-delete him…?"

"… Hmmm… No. I'd prefer to humiliate that guy like I did with Burai so I'd like to capture him and turn him into a puppet… While I don't doubt those guys quickly restoring him to normal, it'd increase his hatred and force him to unleash the Meteor Server's power… I want to make him dangerous to their eyes and deepen his sense of self-guilt…" The man sounded eager.

"… As you command, sir… It shall be done, sir…"

"Go back."

"Roger, sir."

The man laughed aloud while the "apprentice" looked worried and nervous as he glanced over his right shoulder.

_I knew it: this person's cruelty has no limits… Turning someone of my age into a danger to his allies… What nonsense is that? And if I found someone who suffered something similar, then… I'd work my hardest to help them out so as to break free from such a trauma… One day… I will be free…!_

He sighed in a defeated tone as he stepped into his room and sat down on the ground leaning against the wall and closing his arms around his knees while he lowered his head…


	7. Chapter 7: Planning

**Chapter 7: Planning**

09:09 AM (Japan Time), Saturday May the 29th…

"… We've had time to rest and think back on yesterday's events. In my opinion, though, that so-called "invasion" was lame. The guys were not overwhelmingly powerful, not even when they used those programs which they named "Dark Chips"… Maybe they were just supposed to gather data about us."

"That sounds logical, Akatsuki – kun."

"So, Shidou – chan… What do you suggest?"

"We should strike at them on their home field: Planet Zenay III. Subaru! Do you have any data on that planet apart from the distance?"

"I am sorry, but I do not… I've contacted Boss, though, and he's going to take part on this meeting via "Air Display"…"

"Hah! Who needs any data? We go there and sweep the ground with those jerks standing on them!"

"That won't be so easy, War Rock."

"Yeah? Tell me why, Claw Man!"

"Pororon… Men…"

"They only think of battling…"

"Hmpf. Obviously."

"O-oi, neechan… Is that directed at me, too?"

"It is, Jack."

"Crap."

Shidou, the WAXA Chief, Dr. Yoiri, Subaru, War Rock, Acid, Harp, Misora, Queen Tia and Jack were present in the command room while discussing about the previous day's events: War Rock was excited, Acid was calm, Harp looked unimpressed and Queen Tia had her poker face on.

"Ahem, ahem! War Rock. Do you think we'll find them so easily in a planet the mass of which is 90% identical to that of the Earth?" Shidou asked him after clearing his throat.

"Easy! We strike their HQ!"

"But their HQ could be hidden under the sea, under a swap, inside of a mountain, in the middle of the tundra… We can't start wandering each square kilometer of such a planet without any data." Acid pointed out to him.

"Che!" War Rock grumbled.

"Buro~! Take that!"

"Sorry, I overslept!"

Ox laughed while Gonta rushed in and stopped to catch his breath.

"Chief! We've got an "Air Display" request." One officer reported.

"It must be Mr. Vadous. Connect it."

"Roger, sir."

"Good morning." Vadous announced as he showed up using the "Air Display" while sitting on his armchair.

"So, Vadous… What do we know about that planet?" Shidou asked.

"Omega has been making some scouting of its Cosmo Wave… The surface climate is very harsh: humidity barely reaches the 23% mark and temperatures may escalate as high as 48 Celsius in the summer season… Desert composes over 85% of its terrain: 9% of water mass and 6% of tundra towards the north and south magnetic poles… We've got over 47% percentage of elevated mountain ranges and plateaus plus some peaks and valleys… The problem is: there are NO Wave Roads below the atmosphere except for Warp Points linking with the Cosmo Wave up in space." Vadous described with a sigh.

"Crap. That'll make exploration difficult…! We can't hope to explore the whole planet just by _walking_…!" Shidou muttered.

"Don't worry! I came up with a "Jet-pack Program" which will allow you to fly across the surface at a speed of 50 km/h… Not much, I know, but given how there are some strange landmarks which always seem to fall below 50km from the Cosmo Wave Warp Points, then… We could cover that distance without much trouble." He trailed off.

"I see. Good idea." Misora smiled.

"The only remaining problem in the planetary defense shield system… I'm trying to calculate how much energy it can handle so that I can try to overload it…"

"How?" Shidou looked curious.

"Well… I dunno if you saw them when you tried to board my HQ, but… The underside has nine dome-shaped objects with eight small grooves running across their surface each… Eight lines spread from the center and there's a ninth circular one interlinking all the peripheral domes… Those are part of an energy output system…" Vadous admitted.

"Energy output system…? Don't you mean the engines?"

"No, no… The engines are a different tale altogether… No. Maybe I should rather describe it as "orbital cannon" instead…"

"O-orbital cannon…?" Everyone gasped.

"Ah! Sorry, sorry… I know it sounds and works almost like what King did with Meteor G and its "Jamming", but…" He nervously trailed off.

"But given how you'll aim it at a defense shield, then… No big deal. I supposed you can regulate the output?"

"Yeah… The very lowest output using Cannon #0 at 1% power would barely be able to scratch a single house… I mean… It'd get some damage, but over 70% of its structural integrity would remain… But I guess Cannon #0 at a 100% output would be enough to do what King did… Eh… Sorry, sorry! I don't want to scare you gentlemen."

"Well! I can see you really don't wanna make us remember that, but… Go ahead and bust that shield."

"Roger. Black Ace! Have you finished the computation?"

"Affirmative. However…"

"What? I need more than one "Cannon" to break it?"

"One Warp Point has been unlocked."

"What?" Vadous gasped.

"It warps to a position 44 Km NNW of a mine-like set of buildings 258 km SSE of the equator mark: intense desert climate should be expected on that position."

"So! They're laying out the red carpet and inviting us in." Shidou looked rather amused.

"Yeah… We should go little by little, though! Let's make teams of two and scout the different areas… Who would like to volunteer for the first team?" Vadous suggested.

"I'd like to. Could I choose Blood as my partner?" Subaru asked.

"No problem."

"So! You want to go first, Subaru?" Daigo asked.

"I want, dad. I think that between me and Blood we should be able to tackle any "welcome committee" especially if they're somewhat similar to the ones we've already fought." Subaru replied.

"I won't stop you, then."

"Thanks, dad."

"But let's talk it with Akane first… By the way, Vadous… Would it be easy to go there and return anytime?"

"Sure. I firstly plan on installing the HQ in orbit there and then using our portal-generating machines to warp anyone back to Earth in a record time… In short: it'd be a piece of a cake."

"Good."

"Any more questions?"

"W-what kind of e-enemies will we f-find t-there?" Utagai nervously asked him.

"Calm down…" Cygnus sighed.

"Sorry, but I don't know yet… We'll know once we land there."

"Hmmm… Shouldn't we leave some Denpa – Henkan users behind just in case?" Shidou suggested.

"Good idea. Given how both Lartes and Kir Osh can battle Wizards using their Hunter – VGs, then… We could save up two of them."

"Good. Then… I should go, Gonta stays, Misora comes, Utagai – san should stay… Let's leave Moon Disaster, too, and Wolf Forest… I don't think fighting in an arid climate will help, anyway. Cancer Bubble… He's too young for this stuff, I'd say." Shidou listed.

"It's decided, then. Let's meet in 2 hours' time to then start the trip to Zenay III." Vadous concluded.

"Good. We'll be there."

The "Air Display" vanished and everyone looked satisfied with the news: Misora, however, was avoiding the glares of Queen Tia and Jack looked nervous.

"Queen Tia… Why are you always looking so hostile? You don't seriously think I was kidding back when Joker's self-destruct, right?" Shidou asked with a sigh.

"No." She icily replied.

"Man."

Subaru seemed to catch some unspoken message and looked elsewhere along with Jack as War Rock chuckled, Harp didn't seem to catch what was going on, Acid made no comments and Ox chuckled.

_Queen Tia – sensei is scary…!_

"BRAINSSSS!"

"Yikes!"

Subaru whipped around to see Omega standing there and laughing in a hysterical manner.

"W-when did Omega – san…?" Subaru asked.

"Been here the whole time with my stealth camouflage… I wanted to troll you guys for a while." He laughed.

"So. That guy's Omega…" Jack muttered.

"… Interesting." Queen Tia drily muttered.

"By the way! Wouldn't you know, Super Hero – sama~? Your fan – girl club has reached 1111 members by now! And they keep on believing that Clark Kent – sama is your true identity!" Omega told Shidou.

"No way…" He groaned.

"Wandering wanderer of ways…" Omega chanted.

"Not that again…!" Shidou complained.

"The Zombie Club is waiting for ya to bust them."

"Yeah. Where?"

"Maybe behind Shiisaa Island Castle?"

"Guess so…"

"Omega – san… When Boss finds out about this…"

"He'll curse aloud in French."

"He knows French?" Subaru looked surprised.

"Boss is a genius, ya see."

"We don't doubt that. But your passwords, Omega, are totally lame compared to the original ones. I dunno where ya get your ideas from but they don't impress anyone." Misora told him.

"Not even the irony of "Moon Ace" and "Acid Disaster", then?"

"No." Everyone quickly replied.

"Omega…!" Vadous' voice rang out through his radio.

"Ops. Captain Haddock found me."

"Captain who?"

"The guy who was always saying _mille millions de mille sabords_ and drinking Old Scotch Whisky: ya know who I mean, _shachou_." Omega shrugged.

"No, I don't. Come back here NOW."

"Via the Magic Gateway?"

"What Magic Gateway?"

"The purple-colored one Magic Gateway ya can generate: does it generate skeletons, ghosts, dwarves and orcs, too?"

"I don't see the point of it, really!" Vadous fumed.

"_Moules à gaufres_!"

"What has the smallpox to do with this? It was eradicated AGES ago!"

"_Flibustier de carnival! Pirate d'eau douce! __Anthropopithèque!_"

"What? Carnival filibuster, rookie pirate and man-eater? Are you really saying I'm that kind of person or what?"

"Heh, heh, heh. No… That "Demon King" guy is gonna get a medal calling him "Chicken King" when I find him."

"No good…!" Vadous grimly muttered.

"By the way, Bertie – chan!" Omega called out.

"No, sir! That won't come to happen, sir!" Subaru vehemently replied.

"… Violently! Overwhelmingly! Vehemently disgusted! Isn't that how you're feeling right now, _shachou_?" Omega teased.

"No."

"By the way! Are you gonna stake that King will grow a sailor's beard at this rate?" Omega laughed.

"King's body is now a Denpa Body given how he was plunged into a Noise Wave by Ms. Heartless… He can't grow a beard." Vadous grumbled.

"Heh, heh, heh… Mr. Universal Encyclopedia strikes back, so… I'll be going back before Acid Disaster brings upon an acid disaster. _ Avast, astronautres d'eau douce_!"

Omega giggled and turned invisible as he jumped into one purple-colored portal which opened behind him.

"He meant to say "scram, rookie astronauts"…" Vadous grumbled as he translated it.

"What's with the guy?" Gonta asked.

"Huff. You better don't ask." Vadous sighed.

"Yeah. You better stay off this."

"By the way, Hibiki… Would you care to spare me a few minutes? I want to tell you something." Queen Tia called out.

"R-roger…" Misora gulped.

Subaru lifted his eyebrows and looked nervous along with Jack.

"Oi, oi…" Shidou sounded suspicious.

"It's just a piece of advice, Akatsuki. And you'd be better off not getting in the way." She warned.

"Heh, heh, heh. This is turning interesting!" War Rock chuckled.

"Pororon. And, as always… I don't get it at all!" Harp protested with some annoyance.

"It's better off not knowing, I'd say…" Misora told her.

_This is turning crazy! This city has the habit to go mad in the summer…! _

09:27 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Master. By your orders, sir, Warp Point 08 has been unlocked and one "Boss" is ready nearby… Two "Darkloids" have been placed there as well to act as "welcome committee"… The information from the WAXA spy program suggests that they'll reach this place by noon, sir… Rock Man and Blood Shadow would be one of four two-person teams which would land for reconnaissance, sir…"

"Good work, my apprentice."

"Master."

The "apprentice" was bowing in front of the man's throne after finishing up his report.

"Have you checked on Burai?" The man questioned.

"I administered another knock-out given how his EEG levels were quickly escalating and the earlier knock-out's effects were fading… He should be knocked out for about 6 or 7 hours, sir…"

"Good. We'll let him loose from time to time to fight those guys… Are all other "Boss" characters ready to be activated on their assigned areas by now?"

"They are ready, sir. Activation can be done anytime now, sir." The "apprentice" confirmed.

"Fine. We're about to show to the Satella Police how serious we are. Let this planet become their graves!" The man sounded eager.

"Roger, sir."

"You're dismissed."

"By your orders, sir."

"Remember to check on Burai."

"I understand, sir."

"Go."

The man was left alone in the room and he stood up from his throne while forming a smug smile.

"Finally… They're coming… Heh, heh, heh. You lowlifes shall soon die and then nothing will stop the "Demon Tribe Army" from ruling that worthless Earth… That King idiot thought Meteor G was the tool to enforce his rule but didn't foresee the internal sabotage of the thing… But the true tool to an absolute rule is an army! An army which obeys my orders and they can't be given bribes to lure them into defection…! Heh, heh, heh… I'm a genius! King! You did build up a good set of devices, but your organization was a fiasco except for Joker. You didn't bother to make enough background checks on Heartless and that brought you your doom." The man exclaimed aloud.

He walked out of the throne room and into the observation window while he looked out.

"Hmm… I'm looking towards the NNE from a height of 30 kilometers and standing in the exact middle point of the planet where the equator and the central meridian cross at… This way I feel like I'm in the center of the world and can control everything from here… Those lowlifes will come here unsuspecting but they'll only find their graves…"

He chuckled under his breath and spread his arms wide as if encompassing the whole room.

"Vadous! You lowlife are my personal target. I'll make sure to lure you lowlife out and destroy you lowlife and that repulsive organization you control! The world shall be plunged into fear, I shall free IQ – sama and Its Grace shall rule the world through me acting as Its proxy. There's no higher honor! Bwah, hah, hah, hah, ha~h!"

However, "apprentice" had been hiding behind the partly closed door and had heard his talk: he looked slightly annoyed but wasted no time into running out of the corridor and into his room.

_I knew it: Master is slowly turning eviler and villain-like… And I'm sure the "Demon God" is influencing him! But I've built a system to be immune to its effects… One day I will stop being a mere puppet and be free!_


	8. Chapter 8: First contact

**Chapter 8: First contact**

12:45 PM (Japan Time), Saturday May the 29th…

"… Well! Here we are."

"Yeah… And, from here onwards, it's hostile territory."

"Heh! Finally! Some action!"

"Cool it down, Rock…"

"Yeah. Or else we'll get into a pinch, ya know."

"Che."

Rock Man and Blood Shadow were standing in a Cosmo Wave floating above an spot of the planet below them: most of it was still surrounded by a reddish energy field but there was one very small opening directly beneath them: War Rock was getting excited while Rock Man and Blood Shadow remained calm.

"Do you copy? Over." Vadous asked over the radio.

"We copy, Boss." Rock Man confirmed.

"My scanners can't pick up anything from the surface: there's some kind of jamming device which seems to be tuned to interfere with sonar and radar but normal radio transmissions are allowed through… I dunno what's waiting down there but expected the unexpected. I'm sure there'll be one or more enemies hoping to ambush you guys… Try to be careful and, if they are hostile, fight them. But I'm sure they'll also self-destroy before you can try to capture them or get any info outta them." Vadous instructed to them.

"Save the speech for the public, _danna_! We know the drill 'cause this is nothing compared to the Black Hole Server adventure!" War Rock laughed.

Rock Man rolled his eyes while Blood Shadow sighed: they then walked over to the Warp Point and nodded at each other in affirmation before stepping into it…

12:51 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Lovely."

"Yeah… Sand, sand and more sand… Luckily, being in Denpa – Henkan protects us from this heat and the sand…"

"Che. Boring!"

Blood Shadow and Rock Man looked around them: the landscape was composed of dunes of sand extending beyond the horizon and nothing else save for the Warp Point set right behind them: War Rock was starting to sound bored already.

"Heh, heh, heh… Welcome to Zenay III: this planet will become you jerks' graves!" A manly voice rang out.

"Huh? Look out!"

"Wha!"

Blood Shadow suddenly tackled Rock Man to the ground while aiming to the left: what looked like a cylinder with two drills attached to the front and rear ends plus two small arms having shorter drills on them and a cylinder-like extension below the waist shot past where Rock Man had been at and landed on the sand while drawing circles as it stopped its rotation upon its axis.

"Che! I failed." The enemy cursed.

"Compact form…?" Blood Shadow wondered.

"Yeah! My name's Drill Man!"

The enemy switched to another form.

He didn't have much of a "face" per se given how his eyes were set inside of two small rectangular holes with a nose-like formation between them.

He seemed to be over a meter and eighty tall: his chest's main color was red but the area around the stomach and below was colored orange: his upper body ended in a thin cylinder-shaped extension.

His emblem's edge was yellow and its drawing was simple diagonal lines crossing through it starting at the SW and ending at the NE:

A small cone-shaped drill was set above his head and he had what looked like two halves of a drill's body set on his shoulders set aiming slightly downwards: his arms' "skin" was colored black and they had a small orange-like ring just before the wrists: two drills with a red circular support were placed where the hands should be at.

His waist had a round metallic piece which looked like it was part of the main drill body as well: his legs were colored black with some pale rectangles set forming a row and running down their sides until the feet started.

His feet had pale brown-like boots with two halves of a drill's body set on the front and rear of each one: the feet base was red and ended in drill-shaped feet aiming forward with a smaller drill aiming backwards.

"You're a "Darkloid", then…" Blood Shadow guessed.

"Yeah! The great I will bury you lowlifes in this desert! I'll dig you lowlifes' graves with my drills and bury you there!" Drill Man announced.

"Hah! A punk like ya stands no chance against War Rock – sama!"

"Wha~t?" Drill Man grumbled.

"This guy reminds me of my "Drill Arm" Battle Cards…" Rock Man muttered while lifting his eyebrows.

"Breaker – Type with no particular weakness… But we can handle them, nevertheless." Blood Shadow muttered.

"Come! Tunnel Crusher!"

Drill Man turned into his other form and shot forward towards Rock Man and Blood Shadow: both jumped off the way and Rock Man drew a Hammer Weapon Battle Card which he used to stun Drill Man while Blood Shadow placed the barrels of his shotgun on the central body's back.

"Charged shotgun shot!"

"GROAH!"

Drill Man convulsed and shook them off as the stood up and began to drill into the sand to sink beneath it: both began to look around but couldn't find any sign of where would the enemy emerge from: Drill Man suddenly emerged from beneath Rock Man and shot skywards while attacking Rock Man with the two drill-arms: Rock Man, however, summoned Dia Iceburn and she used her hammer to hit Drill Man: Rock Man jumped off him while Drill Man crashed upon the sand in a totally unceremoniously manner.

"No more fooling around! Triple Drill!"

He summoned two small drills and they all headed towards Rock Man and Blood Shadow: both fighters jumped out of the way to then land atop Drill Man: Rock Man summoned Grave Joker: he hit Drill Man with his right punch before he made three "buildings" form on the field in a random formation and one of them hit him: Blood Shadow then drew a Sword Fighter X Battle Card to deliver several consecutive attacks at the enemy.

"How's this like?" Blood Shadow taunted.

"Gruh… Grah… Lost… 1800 HP… out of 2200…! I can still fight…!"

"Giga Card! Wing Blade!"

"Wha~t?"

Acid Ace appeared on the field and shot forward thanks to the help of his thrusters: he rammed into Drill Man and inflicted major damage as he shattered his compact form and made him land face-up on the sand while groaning and convulsing.

"Under Shirt… Still has 1 HP left!" Rock Man guessed.

"C-crap… Lowered the guard…!" Drill Man uttered.

"Where's the HQ?" Blood Shadow questioned.

"Dunno! Go to Hell!"

"Run!"

"Yikes!"

Drill Man suddenly blew up but both had taken refuge behind a dune of sand: they sighed in relief and looked over it.

"That guy wasn't a pushover by any means…! And if this just one of them, I don't wanna find out how much more powerful the rest of them are at this rate." Rock Man grimly muttered.

"Hah! It was thrilling." War Rock laughed.

"Be serious." Blood Shadow grumbled.

"Wind Cutter!"

"Uack!"

"Grah!"

A roll of some kind of tape suddenly hit them with force from the left and kicked them across a patch of the area as a new enemy landed into the ground out of nowhere.

"Hah! Drill Man failed. But that was according to my _scenario_ anyway so it's my turn now! Calling on Video Man – sama~! He who brings _scenarios _along his pace and dice~!"

"Video Man?" Both wondered.

The so-called Video Man didn't appeal to be taller than a meter and sixty tall.

The guy's face was colored black and his eyes were colored green: he had a metallic structure set around and atop the head which included two dials on the sides of it and three connection ports colored yellow, white and red from left to right.

His main color was black but he had a round "play" symbol colored green set on the middle of the chest with two round buttons on both sides of it: a shape reminiscent of the Alphabet letter "V" was set above the "play" symbol plus a round circle drawn around on the base of his neck.

His shoulders were shaped like spheroids but were different: the left one was gray metallic while the right one was black with a red dome-shaped piece set atop it.

His arms' "skin" was black in color, too, but he had two parallel circular green stripes set slightly beneath the shoulder: his forearms were metallic and had some kind of tape set on them which interconnected with each other: his hands were colored black, too, and had no outstanding features on either of them.

The rest of his torso was colored black and it had another green-colored shape reminiscent of the Alphabet letter "V" set on it towards the spot where a person's stomach would be at.

His legs had four small "V" shape stripes set on a vertical row around the hips: four of them.

Another two circular stripes parallel to each other were placed around the knees and on the ankles: his feet were shaped like rectangles.

"Attacking like that was cheap." Blood Shadow told him.

"Heh, heh, heh. A good villain always comes from an unexpected direction or so they say!" Video Man chuckled.

"Are you guys hiding something or what?" Rock Man demanded with some suspicion.

"Heh! I've been ordered to let out something: there are several "Boss" characters scattered around this planet and you NEED to defeat them if you want to access our HQ." Video Man let out.

"And that's why the Warp Points are placed like that?" Rock Man deduced next.

"Correct! But you guys will be defeated here and I'll be promoted! Amplified Virus Copy! Mwah, hah, hah, hah, ha~h!"

Three gigantic Mettori formed on the field and lifted their pickaxes to then hit the floor with them and provoke sonic shockwaves: both fighters barely dodged and tried to focus.

"Rock Man! Leave the grunts to me. You got after that guy: as far as I know, the so-called "video-tape" is very weak to EM and highly flammable… Gotcha?"

"Gotcha."

"Mwah, hah, hah, ha~h! Oi! Berserk grunt! Detective Rubasu is gonna arrest ya!" War Rock laughed.

"Detective _what_?" Rock Man asked.

"Go, Detective Rubasu!"

"That sounds so silly… Machine Flame X! Flash Spear X!"

"No way!"

Rock Man hit Video Man with both attacks followed by a Beast Swing X: War Rock materialized and sliced Video Man's tape followed by leaving some scars on his chest.

"Guh…! But this isn't over yet…! Hroa~h! Playback! Playback! Playback! Playback! Playback!" He began to yell.

His tape got repaired somehow and it emitted a spectrum of light to then begin to create copies of Rock Man: he gasped as they attacked using the same three attacks he'd used before and overwhelmed him.

"Mwah, hah, hah, ha~h! How's this like? My special move, Playback, allows me to generate copies of the opponent I've just recorded! Wallow in despair and hopelessness! My _scenario_ is perfect!" He laughed.

"This jerk is starting to sound like Phantom Black…! Oi! Subaru! Make this guy swallow his tape!" War Rock grumbled.

"I'm t-trying to! But it ain't easy to handle so many enemies at the same time…!"

"Aren't ya forgetting someone, Mr. Director?"

BLAM!

"GUAH!"

Video Man stepped forward in an erratic manner before collapsing on the ground with a large wound on his back: Blood Shadow was standing behind him and his shotgun was smoking.

"Heat Grenade!"

Rock Man jumped out of the way as the capsule exploded and inflicted major damage to the copies, deleting them: Rock Man then aimed the Elec Slash Battle Card at Video Man while Blood Shadow aimed the shotgun.

"What happened to the earlier confidence, _scenario_ jerk?" War Rock taunted him.

"Why, you…!" Video Man cursed.

"Where's the Boss?"

"You know where!"

"The mines…" Rock Man guessed.

"Is there a _mazokuchou_, by the way?"

"There is! But I don't know how he looks like or his name!"

"Something tells me that that Demon King man works by the "Need Not To Know" principle…" Blood Shadow guessed.

"So we have both a _maou_ and a _mazokuchou_… What's this, a _makai_ or what?" Rock Man wondered aloud.

"Hah! Yeah! Correct! This is His _makai_! And now I'll bring despair to you guys! Hroa~h…! FINAL PLAYBACK!"

Video Man quickly stood up and began to load up energy into his body: both fighters gasped and stepped back while Video Man roared.

"Energy is building up in my body~!" He exclaimed.

"No good!" Rock Man gasped.

"We gotta stop him!" Blood Shadow rallied.

"UWA~H…! NYA~H…! POWER! POWER! MORE POWER! ABSOLUTE POWER! GODLY POWER!"

"Fool." A manly voice rang out of nowhere.

Streaks of light began to emerge from Video Man's body as he roared before he blew up in a brutal explosion which knocked both fighters off their feet before they recovered.

"Hmpf. What a fool! Godly power? Absolute power? That was an act of treason! The punishment for treason is death! Nobody can question my authority within my _makai_!"

"Demon King… Where's Burai?" Rock Man demanded.

"Hmpf. Burai is a valuable tool. I save it up." The man shrugged.

"Where are you speaking from?"

"Look above you lowlifes."

They lifted their sight and spotted a Voltic Eye floating idle in the air while the man's voice came out of it.

"Proxy, huh…" Blood Shadow muttered.

"If you lowlifes feel so confident, then go ahead and die trying to reach the mines on foot!"

"Who said we'll go there on foot?" Rock Man grinned.

"Wha~t?" The man grumbled.

"Jet-pack program: execute!"

Two jet-packs formed on each fighter's back and emitted gusts of air which allowed them to keep afloat: they then aimed southwards and the jet-packs emitted a torrent of plasma to propel them.

"Have at ya!" War Rock taunted.

"Why, you…!"

"Last one eats _udon a la napolitana_ courtesy of Boss!" War Rock taunted.

"There's no such thing!"

"Ask Dragon Hell!"

"Ask _who_?"

"Vadous' cook!"

"I didn't know that repulsive man had a cook and…! Oi! Stop there! I haven't finished my dialogue~!"

However, both of them were already out of the hearing range: War Rock laughed while both sighed.

"War Rock… Don't give Dragon – san credit or he'll keep on roaming forever in Confucius' world." Blood Shadow sighed.

"Sure, sure!"

"I don't believe that." Rock Man dully muttered.

"Believing believer of beliefs…" War Rock rhymed.

"Good work." Someone told them over the radio.

"Ah! Master!" Rock Man smiled.

"Dr. Lartes. What happened to Boss?"

"He's studying the data you two gathered… There definitely seems to be something in those mines, so head over there."

"Roger, sir."

"Yo! Doc! Tell Omega I'm gonna beat him to the craziest joke today!"

"No good, no good…" Dr. Lartes grimly muttered.

"Jeez! War Rock! We're busy enough trying to stay alive!"

"Yeah. So please stay quiet and let's check out the mines already."

"Mining miner of mines…"

"Fan – tas – tic. As if it wasn't bad enough!"


	9. Chapter 9: Boss Battle!

**Chapter 9: Boss Battle!**

13:39 PM (Japan Time), Saturday May the 29th…

"… Well! We're here! The mines…"

"Look…! Viruses digging out rock…!"

"Heh! Interesting!"

Blood Shadow and Rock Man stepped into a large cavern which was filled with digging machinery and cart tracks heading downwards towards deeper levels of the mine: several Mettori were digging out rock and carrying it into the carts: both fighters were hidden in a corner with poor lighting next to the entrance doors.

"I can feel something powerful pulsating from deeper inside…" Blood Shadow reported in a whisper.

"It's gotta be the "Boss"…" Rock Man deduced.

"Let's ignore these guys and head to the bottom."

"Roger."

Both jumped out the ledge and began to climb down the ledges quickly and silently until they reached the bottom: the tracks continued towards an elevator which had a banner above it: it read "Elevator to Hell".

"How fitting." Blood Shadow drily muttered.

"Yeah. Really." Rock Man muttered.

"Oi! I wanna make that crowd flee in fear! Go stir them up!" War Rock told Rock Man.

"That won't do, Rock."

"Che."

"Heh, heh, heh! Time to recycle trash by incinerating it…!" Someone exclaimed.

"A "Darkloid"…?" Blood Shadow gasped.

"Hah!"

A new "Darkloid" dropped down from a higher ledge: he could be close to a meter and seventy tall but was rather massive.

A dome-like shape formed over his upper body and below the head: the head was shaped like a circle and had orange armor over it plus a small tooth-like piece forming beneath the forehead and extending until the spot where a person's nose would be at: the head also had a metallic piece shaped like the "L" character turned 90º to the right so as to aim northwards.

His eyes' irises were red and he had no visible mouth:

His main body was shaped like a thick disc and colored orange with two yellow bands plus three layers of metallic armor running down the sides: a hollow circular line spread across the front face of it while having two green bulb-like objects set on it plus his emblem which consisted on two simplistic yellow lances crossing each other and set over a blue background.

His shoulders were orange-colored spheroids and his arms were colored navy blue: two orange cylinders were placed there the hands would be at thus allowing him to carry large metallic spears emerging from the front and short ones from the rear of each cylinder: the outwards-facing sides of the cylinders had yellow curved bands spanning their total length set on them.

The lower body was colored navy blue plus blue spheroids placed where the ankles would be at with legs spreading from them until the knees, where the boots began: a small yellow-colored piece which was reminiscent of the "L" character turned 90º to the left: it had a small navy blue dot set close to the upper edge of it.

His boots were colored orange and ended in round platform-like formations: the central band of it was colored yellow with three green-colored drawings starting at the upper edge and spanning until the lower edge: the disc-shaped platform-like feet were decorated with a small navy blue dot set on the front of them.

"My name's Spark Man: I'm here to clean up the trash by incinerating it and making sure no – one steps into the "Boss Room" given how I hold _half_ of its key!" He announced.

"And a companion of yours has the second half, then?" Rock Man quickly deduced.

"Yeah… I think you lowlifes know the guy."

"A rebuilt FM, UMA or berserk Wizard…?" Blood Shadow wondered.

"My hint ends here… Find out the rest on your own! Cross Spark!"

Spark Man intercrossed his lances, which were frizzling with electricity, and shot an electrical discharge towards both of them: Rock Man, however, jumped forward and hit him with the Wood Slash Battle Card while Blood Shadow grinned.

"Behold a terrific combo! Grass Stage! Jungle Storm!"

"Oho. Terrific!" Rock Man looked amused.

"Wha~t?" Spark Man uttered.

The ground became grass and Blood Shadow drew a fan-like weapon which he began to spin: it sucked on grass to then shoot it back at Spark Man to inflict heavy consecutive damage.

"No way! Spark Ball!"

Orange-colored spheroids with yellow voltage converter-like extensions coming out of the NE, NW, SE and SW corners plus a green "eye" on the center of them formed in the space and shot towards the ground thus hitting both of them: however, Club Strong materialized on the field and loomed over Spark Man, who gasped.

"Strong Swing X!" Rock Man announced.

Club Strong began to hit the ground with his club at random but managed to land five consecutive hits on Spark Man thus dizzying him and inflicting heavy damage again: Blood Shadow quickly jumped over him and landed behind him.

"Charged shotgun shot!"

"Grah!"

Spark Man was propelled forward and he growled something as he jumped into an upper ledge and began to emit some kind of sound.

"Supersonic sounds…?" Blood Shadow wondered.

"Come!"

"Metto~!"

The Mettori stopped working on the mine and rushed towards Rock Man and Blood Shadow in a stampede-like formation: both gasped and began to shoot at them but couldn't delete the whole of them before they jumped atop them and began to strike at them from different angles: Spark Man looked on and laughed.

"Old trash will fuse with new trash and generate even more trash! Then the only thing left to do is to take it out with a clean slash! I'm a - GENIUS!" He laughed.

"You're a mere grunt." Blood Shadow taunted.

"Yeah. If you're so strong, come face us directly!" Rock Man challenged.

"Oh yeah! Leave it to me!" War Rock grinned.

He materialized and swung his claws left and right thus deleting a large amount of Viruses: he warped and appeared in front of Spark Man to leave some scars across his face: Spark Man growled and jumped down into the fray to try to plunge his right spear into Rock Man: he, however, grabbed the spear and aimed it at the ceiling: Spark Man's attack hit it and some segments of the ceiling broke to collapsed atop Spark Man: the Viruses suddenly stopped and the survivors returned to their posts to resume working while Spark Man growled something.

"I see. He can override the Viruses' normal programming and drive them mad but once it vanishes they return to the normal status. It's a very simplistic trick." Blood Shadow deduced.

"You lowlifes…!"

"Final blow! Drill Arm X!"

Rock Man jumped and plunged the Drill Arm X into Spark Man's chest emblem thus breaking through it: Spark Man roared and blew up thus pushing Rock Man back: the upper half of a metallic square jumped off and landed at Blood Shadow's left: he picked it up.

"This thing has the word "Bo" written on it… The other half must have "ss" written on it to complete the word "Boss"…" He guessed.

"Let's pick the elevator and…"

"Heh, heh, heh. Catch." Someone chuckled.

"… Go ahead." Another voice added.

The second half of the square fell off from a higher ledge and they looked over there but didn't spot anyone.

"Why aren't you battling us?" Rock Man called out.

"… I don't want to." One of the voices replied.

"_Danna_ told us our role is to add some suspense." The second voice added with a hint of amusement.

"… Is it me or do those voices ring a bell…?" Rock Man wondered while frowning.

"See ya!"

"… Later."

"They're gone." Blood Shadow reported.

"That guy's aura reeked… I'm sure I've met the guy before." War Rock admitted.

"Anyway… Let's go check out the "Boss Room"…"

"We'll find the Hell that Dragon guy ran outta from!" War Rock joked aloud.

They both stepped into the elevator which descended for about five minutes until it reached the bottom: a large gateway with a hollow square-shaped cavity was placed on the center of it.

"Gotcha. Let's place this thing here."

Blood Shadow placed the square there: some circuitry lighted up and hummed before the door began to climb upwards along the rails until it stopped to reveal a concrete tunnel leading into a totally unlit room: two yellow menacing eyes were shining inside of it.

"Show you hide." War Rock taunted.

A Dream Virus crawled out of the room and made that inhuman echoing roar as the Real Wave information screen popped out.

"_Dream_ Virus? This guy causes nightmares by sneaking into humans' dreams or what?" War Rock wondered.

"No… "Dream" must mean it's a hacker's most ambitious dream: a devastating program capable of destroying anything and he built it up: he's the world's number #1 genius…" Blood Shadow guessed.

"Ironic." Rock Man calmly muttered.

"And this thing is the "Boss"?" War Rock asked.

"Wasn't that obvious in the information screen?" Rock Man asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"Huh. I was too excited."

"That's why you should act more cool-headed…"

The Dream Virus crawled back into the room and both followed it as the room lit up and a reddish energy field appeared behind them: the room contained several containers of raw ore pending processing.

"O. K.! Boss Battle! Charge~!" War Rock laughed.

"You mean this: Wave Battle, Ride On!"

"Go!"

The Dream Virus generated a transparent bubble-like object around its body before lifting the arms: towers of water formed and shot skywards while both fighters narrowly avoided them: a torrent of flames spread in an "X" formation followed by a pale blue electrical spark and trunks of trees shaped like spears.

"This thing is aiming to overwhelm us, I'd say!"

"And that "Dream Aura" can handle up to 200 HP of damage… But maybe it'll end up lowering it to attack…" Blood Shadow muttered.

The Dream Virus began to load up energy and generated a purple spheroid which then sprouted a blade-like weapon: it swung in a 180º arch and both barely dodged or blocked it by mere inches.

"NOW!"

"Axis Jet X!"

"Pain Hell Flame!"

Spade Magnets appeared and shot forward towards the Dream Virus while carrying two missiles with him: the impact damaged it followed by Jack Corvus' random bombardment of the field with purple flames: the Dream Virus howled and shot a thick laser beam which impacted into the energy field and overloaded it: the Dream Virus lifted its arms and opened a "portal" from which incandescent spheroids rained down upon the field but both fighters could dodge them.

"Quick! Stun Knuckle!"

"Mad Vulcan X!"

Blood Shadow paralyzed the Dream Virus while Rock Man hit with several rounds from his Mad Vulcan X: part of the Dream Virus' armor jumped off and it howled again: it tried to swing both arms to hit them but they ducked to dodge.

"Let's end this! Piranha Kiss X!"

"Spade Magnets X!"

Both attacks inflicted major damage to the Dream Virus and it suddenly seemed to lose the balance given how it had to lean into the ground using its arms: a pulsating yellowish sphere of energy with wires attached to it could be seen set inside of its body.

"The core…!" Blood Shadow muttered.

"I say we prepare to run out… I don't wanna be close when this thing blows up…!" Rock Man suggested.

"… Yeah. That'd be wise." One of the unknown voices rang out.

"Heh. If ya guys fall at the 1st Boss then it ain't funny! Ain't that right, _aibou_?" The second voice laughed.

"… Dunno."

"Whatever. See ya around!"

The two explorers ran outta the cavern just as the Dream Virus roared and several streaks of light jumped off its core: the whole thing blew up and the explosion swept through the corridor but the elevator had already begun climbing.

"Phew." Both sighed in relief.

"Heh! Not bad." War Rock chuckled.

CLING!

Something metallic fell in the ground: Rock Man picked it up and found out it was a round metallic medallion having the red letters "WWW" drawn inside of it: it had a chip-like object set on the rear side of it.

"Maybe this is one of the keys to their HQ?" He wondered.

"Looks like it… But I dunno if "WWW" has any meaning."

"Heh! Then jump back two letters." War Rock laughed.

"… I doubt the villain caring about that." Rock Man drily muttered.

"Yeah. I highly doubt it, too."

The elevator stopped in the entrance cavern: both quickly climbed up the ledges until they exited into the desert: a new Warp Point had showed up there and both looked curious.

"It'd seem Warp Points steadily get unlocked as we defeat these "Bosses", then…" Rock Man deduced.

"Rock Man? Blood? Are you alright?" Dr. Lartes asked.

"We are, Master. However… We have an unidentified agent who seems to play the suspense role and is someone we used to know. Sorry. I should say _agents_ because there are two of them." Rock Man reported.

"Hum. By the way! Omega found the HQ: the Warp Point there got unlocked barely four minutes ago… He's checked it out but he only found a plaza with some columns to put medallions into and a gigantic cluster of clouds floating above it: a camouflage device… The energy being emitted by that thing is huge but there's no way of knowing what goes on inside of it… 10 medallions can fit in those columns." Dr. Lartes described.

"10…! And we just got 1 after fighting our way through three of those "Darkloids"… This will be long and tiring!" Blood Shadow muttered.

"I'm starting to doubt if we can solve this by Sunday evening… No matter what, you shouldn't fall behind in your studies so close to the end of the 6th grade, Subaru, so… You could come back by the afternoon and the same would apply to Misora… Akatsuki can remain because he's been given permission, too…" Dr. Lartes suggested.

"I understand, sir."

"Oi! Doc! We saw the Hell from which Dragon showed up! No wonder he is so statue-like: the Dream Virus has been feeding him dreams of glory all this time!" War Rock laughed.

"If that was supposed to be a joke, then it fails." Dr. Lartes drily replied without sounding impressed.

"Che! I can't stand stiff people."

"Rock…" Rock Man sighed.

"Anyway… Come up here and take a break: Akatsuki and Sigma are going to handle further exploration, so…"

"Roger."

"Let's pick this Warp Point."

They stepped into the Warp Point and reached the Cosmo Wave: both sighed in relief and stretched.

"Man. I'm glad we got rid of that sand!" War Rock muttered.

"Anyone would…" Blood Shadow shrugged.

"Heh, heh, heh. Enjoy while you can, guys. Ya have a lot of trouble ahead before ya can gather the remaining 9 medallions!" One of the unknown voices rang out.

"… True." The second one calmly added.

"That manner of speaking…! I'm sure I've heard somewhere before but I just can't place the finger on it…!" Rock Man muttered.

"Rock Man… It'd be best if you didn't try to get too involved." The second voice called out.

"He even addressed me formally…?" Rock Man frowned.

"Ya are too bland. Let's go back before _Danna_ questions that attitude ya have, _aibou_." The first voice shrugged.

"They've vanished." War Rock let out.

"They seem to use a speaker and remain out of range from my scanning abilities…" Blood Shadow told Rock Man.

"We can solve that mystery later. Let's go."

"Roger."

"Going gone gong…" War Rock rhymed.

_Setting Rock's jokes aside… Just who are those two persons…? Why do I feel like I know them…? I have a bad feeling about this…!_


	10. Chapter 10: Second team

**Chapter 10: Second Team**

13:58 PM (Japan Time), Saturday May the 29th…

"… So! The manly cool team makes it appearance."

"Heh, heh, heh. Not bad, Akatsuki! Ya could patent that."

"Fantastic."

"Don't be so grim, Acidic Acids of Acid!"

"Please stop with the pointless tittles."

"Heh. As expected of a lawyer…"

"How many times do we have to go over this?"

"A million, maybe?"

"I give up."

Acid Ace and Sigma were walking away of a Warp Point in the middle of the desert and they looked around.

"So! There's a cave formation 39 kilometers NNE from our current position and maybe we'll find a "Boss" guy there…"

"Not "maybe": ya will find it!"

"Hum! But you lowlifes will be reduced to ashes before that can happen, however!"

"Oho. We've got company." Sigma grinned.

"Let them show up." Acid Ace smiled.

"I can detect one distinct Flame – Attribute signature… The other doesn't seem to have a specific Attribute… They clock around 2000 HP each one, though." Acid reported.

"2000 and they're V1? Though guys!" Acid Ace whistled.

"Heh! Let them come: I'll send them to Alaska via DHL!"

"Calling on Colored Man!"

Colored Man was a Darkloid who surely didn't reach the meter and seventy tall height but was past the meter and sixty height.

His head was shaped like a normal person's but he had two large reddish/orange eyes set inside of a blue-colored structure plus a small mouth: two flocks of bluish hair came out of the sides and aimed right and left respectively: a red dome-shaped object sprouted from atop of his head as well.

He wore a one-piece red suit with a lower blue ring set around the knees and a white "neck" area: two small yellowish "flaps" formed near the lower edge of the suit each having an exclamation sign drawn into them: the left one was colored blue with the right one was colored red.

His arms were very thin and colored in yellow and blue stripes: his hands were colored red and shaped like watermelon slices with each one having four cylindrical yellowish fingers.

He carried a spheroid colored white with blue round dots scattered at random over its surface where the suit ended at and his emblem consisted of six triangles aiming towards a center colored white, gray and green further complimented by a yellow border.

"Tee, heh, heh!"

"Hmpf. Flame Man has arrived!"

This new "Darkloid" appealed to be slightly taller than Colored Man and his main body was an irregular spheroid-shaped reddish fireball.

His face had two simple red eyes on it along with a mouth.

His emblem was set on the front and depicted a yellow-colored flame.

Four legs formed from it to support him: the legs were thin and had four brownish rings on the front ones: they ended in orange feet-like extensions with an upper brownish edge: the inwards sides of the feet-like extensions had a cut off segment making them be shorter in height.

The rear legs had three rings and ended in a brown rectangle with a metal piece facing northwards.

His mere appearance radiated an aura of heat which, summed together with the desert's heat, was overwhelming.

"So! There's a "Boss" up there." Sigma grinned.

"Correct! But even if you lowlifes defeat us two, there are three guardians plus _those two_ in the caves!" Flame Man announced.

"By "those two" you mean the unidentified duo who gave away a piece of the Boss Room's key and the medallion?" Acid Ace deduced.

"Tee, heh, heh, he~h! Yeah! The Unknown Duo!"

"Unknown Duo… You guys' Boss is fond of suspense, huh?"

"Hah! You lowlifes can't come any closer to understanding the might of _maou – sama_!" Flame Man exclaimed.

"Let's go~! Flame Tower!"

"Chaos Flame!"

Colored Man summoned pillars of flame headed for Acid Ace while Flame Man summoned two giant candles which shone green and his own flames' color switched to that, too.

"Wide Wave X!"

"Heh! Demon Rings!"

Acid Ace shot the Wide Wave X at the columns of fire and quickly locked on his enemy: he slashed the chest and opened a wound which allowed him to see Colored Man's core: Sigma used his left hand to project some energy rings colored blue towards the candles and blew them up.

"Take this! Demon Sword!"

Sigma jumped into the air to then plunge his sword into Flame Man's unprotected body now that the flames were gone: his body was colored metallic gray and extended in a diagonal manner.

It had several slots which seemed to be the spots from where the flames were generated and emitted: Sigma's sword plunged through it.

"Gu~h! You lowlife~!"

"Heh! Come at full power!"

"This guy…!" Colored Man cursed.

"Bite me, ugly." Acid Ace taunted.

"Ball!"

"Chaos Flame…!"

Two new candles formed on the field and Flame Man gained orange-colored flames while Colored Man shot his sphere at Acid Ace thus revealing his thin black legs and yellowish shoes: Acid Ace suddenly ignited his thrusters and rammed into him as he plunged a Long Sword into the core program.

"Gua~h!"

Colored Man blew up while Sigma used his sword to bounce the Chaos Flame at Flame Man and stun him: Sigma then plunged his sword into him from the underside.

"Gu… Guo~h!"

Flame Man was destroyed as well while Acid Ace shook the dust off him and Sigma grinned.

"Heh! Not bad." Sigma commented.

"Yeah. Let's head to the caves."

"And let's tell Mr. Lawyer to tell those guys why we've come to fire them by the way!" Sigma joked.

"I – am – not – a – lawyer!" Acid exasperatedly announced.

"Ask Dr. Yoiri… Let's move out, _aibou_!"

"Let's go at full power!"

14:37 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Well! Caves: and a welcome committee is waiting for us inside of those… Heh, heh, heh."

"Yeah. Let's go say hi."

Sigma and Acid Ace looked at a ramp climbing up towards an ominous cave entrance from which a purplish fog was coming out: the skies around here were clouded and rumbling could be heard.

"Gattsu, gattsu!"

"I shall not let them go any further!"

"True, desu!"

Three "Darkloids" came out of the cave's opening and formed a row from left to the right.

"Guts Man – sama is gonna stop them, gattsu! Guts Man – sama is the strongest, gattsu!"

This Darkloid was the tallest and more massive of the whole group.

His head was square in shape: the upper section was colored yellow while two green lines crossed across the forehead but stopping short of a round spot placed at the center of it.

His eyes were uncolored and his jaw was enclosed within a metallic structure: the rest of the face was colored black and he had no nose: his symbol was repeated on the ear-pads.

His main body was a metallic spheroid colored red with a gray metallic circle around the base of the neck: two yellowish ring-like shapes were set where the shoulders should be at: the center section contained a dome-shaped metallic edge with a drawing inside of it: the drawing was a simple square cross colored green and set against a black background.

His arms were thick and massive: they were made of metallic rings which ended in the wrist and yellowish armor covered the forearm and the upper part of the hand: he had five fingers in each.

His legs were colored black and ended in yellowish boots and black soils: two round spots were placed on the edge of the boots.

"Glyde, a faithful servant, shall punish them!"

Glyde was slightly shorter than Guts Man in height, maybe closer to a meter and seventy.

His head had two thin lines running down it starting beneath the eyes and his nose was colored brown: the helmet was colored brown and yellow with a small green dot set on the middle of it: the center section was the one colored yellow.

He was clearly humanoid in design and his main armor color was brown with golden rims on the base of the neck and where the arms began at: the drawing of his emblem was two yellow triangles with a red diamond on the middle of it plus a curved pink-colored half-sphere shape aiming downwards.

His arms' skin was colored black but had an outstanding shape where the shoulder should be at having a golden rim around it: his forearms had a golden ring to signal their start and brown gloves coupled a reddish dot above the palms.

His lower body was colored black with a silver-like arrow pointing downwards starting right beneath the main armor's lower edge while the rest of the body and legs retained the plain black coloring: the boots had the same pattern as the gloves but had two arrows pointing upwards and downwards above and below the knee.

A diamond-shaped formation was set on his back from which four white plain wings sprouted.

"Desu! Ice Man will freeze them!"

Ice Man seemed to be barely one meter and forty tall.

His eyes' irises were brown and he had a small nose: two patterns colored pink and shaped like seashells.

The head was surrounded by the parka's hood.

He wore _Eskimo_ – like clothes colored lush green and forest green: his gloves were colored brown and so were his boots.

The chest had a circle with a white edge plus a snow flake colored azure on the center of it and set against a navy blue background.

He carried a small backpack colored brown and with his emblem drawn into it as well.

"Heh, heh, heh. Look on, _aibou_. I bet that the black giant will beat the crap out of the cheap guys and Super Hero – sama will go and beat the fatty guy before ya can count 30." One of the unknown voices rang out.

"… Maybe." The other voice calmly replied.

"The Unknown Duo's looking on, eh? Fine! Come at full power!"

"Clark Kent came!"

"Blizzard!"

"Glyde Cannon!"

"Guts Hammer! Gutsu~!"

Ice Man blew some snow from his mouth, Glyde drew a golden-colored Hyper Cannon Battle Card and Guts Man formed a hammer which he used to hit the floor.

"We're in a rush! Make way to the cops! Demon Sword!"

Sigma quickly arched his sword 45º in each direction to hit Ice Man and send him flying before jumping into the air, grabbing him by the hood using the left hand, and tossing him towards Glyde's back: they both stepped forward due to the collision and stepped into a concealed Giga Mine Battle Card: the explosion inflicted major damage to them and they groaned.

"Gattsu~! Mega Guts Punch!"

"Slower than my aunt." Acid Ace grinned.

"As far as I…" Acid began.

"I know I have no aunts! It' an irony, Acid!"

"Heh, heh, heh…! Inazuma Head X!"

"Good thinking! B Ice Hammer X!"

"Oho. This is getting cool!" One of the voices chuckled.

There was a sudden tremor which shook the area: everyone looked towards the cave from which a grayish mass with yellow square dots crawled out: it stopped right beneath each "Darkloid" and suddenly formed cocoon-like shapes which surrounded each Darkloid before seemingly breaking them down into raw data and crawling back: three pieces of data hovered above the terrain along with a fourth one which was dropped from above.

"Is that the "Boss"…?" Acid Ace nervously asked.

"L-looks like it…" Sigma nervously muttered.

"Heh, heh, heh. What happened to the earlier guts?" One of the voices taunted.

"… Don't provoke them: it's worse." The other voice warned.

"Che. Ya are too soft! Lemme show ya how it's done."

"… Fine."

The four pieces of data assembled to form the square object and flew into the cave followed by both Acid Ace and Sigma: the large door was closed except for a small 10cm tall opening on the underside of it.

"So that's how that mass thing could come out…" Sigma guessed.

"And the tremor has to be the main body trying to break free by ramming into the door…" Acid Ace nervously added.

The plaque hovered and entered the slot: the door hummed and began to lift up while the energy field to cut their retreat formed right behind them: both gulped as a growling sound rang out of the unlit cavity together with the glow of two red eyes.

"Yikes."

Something began to move forward while stepping into the floor with force thus making the ceiling shake and dust fall off it.

"Heh, heh, heh. The Dream Virus was so easy, really! But you guys will have it harder making it past this thing…"

"Yeah… Good luck, I'd say…"

The large monster finally came into view.

It was a four-legged creature with a grayish body, a tail and a head:

The head had an inverted-crown-like object on its neck and its eyes' irises were red: the mouth was filled with teeth and black or yellowish spots distributed at random across its surface.

It was two meters tall and it roared as the Real Wave screen showed up in front of the thing:

"Ultimate Bug Fusion Body: Gospel"

"… Ultimate Bug…"

"Fusion Body…"

"Gospel?" Both wondered.

The thing roared and suddenly formed some broken concrete blocks which shot towards both fighters followed by a mass of green-colored flames which bathed the field.

"I guess the insides are the weak point, so we gotta wait for the thing to open its mouth!" Sigma deduced.

"Yeah… Let's try tossing bombs inside of it." Acid Ace suggested.

"O. K.! Count Bomb X!"

"Count Bomb X!"

"Gospel" swallowed both bombs but didn't seem to mind them: both gasped and jumped out of the way.

"Hah! How's that?"

The monster's head suddenly morphed into a drill and detached to shot forward and hit the force field: it exploded upon contact.

"NOW!"

"Hyper Cannon! Mad Vulcan X! Machine Flame X!"

"Heat Grenade! Bubble Hook X! Dummy Spider X!"

The six attacks bombard the inner core and the structural integrity of the monster began to break down: both gasped and quickly ran away before an explosion swept the area and stained it with the grayish mass.

"Yikes. That one almost broke us down into raw data to absorb it and grown stronger…!" Acid Ace gasped.

"Man… I'll stop joking around: it's proven that it brings bad luck along!"

"Good work! Prize."

"Later."

A medallion was dropped into the ground: it had a red-colored symbol which looked like a dog's face seen from the side and having a shape reminiscent of the "G" Alphabet character.

"Two outta 10… A fifth…" Acid Ace muttered.

"Hey. At least you made it out intact." Vadous told them over the radio.

"Look: a new Warp Point. Has any other Warp Point unlocked?"

"Yeah. 127 kilometers NNW of the central spot… There's a city of sorts 25 km SE of the spot… Harp Note and Omega are heading there. I did manage to install a temporary lockdown of Omega's crazy humor files."

"We should knock Dragon back into the Earth, too."

"I'm so itching to hit him in the head with his frying pan…!" Vadous grumbled.

"The frying pan… Guess that's better than a hammer. Jeez. Let's go back."


	11. Chapter 11: Third team

**Chapter 11: Third Team**

14:52 PM (Japan Time), Saturday May the 29th…

"… Touch-down. And I'm sure a welcome committee roams close to this spot."

"Obviously… Show up if you have the guts!"

"Hah! Trying to challenge a high-level guardian… What foolishness!"

"Heh! This looks exciting! The great I am invincible!"

"You shall not pass forward…"

Omega and Harp Note landed in one spot of the desert: what seemed to be a small city was viewable far in the horizon while the terrain around them was just sand and dunes: three voices rang out and both of them looked around.

"I shall go first… My name is Pharaoh Man!"

The so-called Pharaoh Man struck as being over a meter and seventy tall.

His head was shaped like a trapeze: two rectangular vertical blue stripes formed over his square plain eyes colored red: he had a nose-like formation over his face plus a gray metallic piece in the form of a trapeze aiming downwards set over where a human's mouth would be at.

His body was shaped like an Egyptian sarcophagus with a cubical base, a column-shaped portion emerging atop it and a main body shaped like two dome-shaped pieces fused and aiming up and down.

He had ear-pads on both sides of the head colored blue and having his emblem drawn into it: an outer brown-colored circle split in two at the middle point: a small brown circle was set on the middle and the interior was colored red.

His arms were crossed over his main body but were not "attached" to it per se: they had metallic gray domes sprouting out of the spot where the elbows would be at.

The arms' main color was black with a circular red stripe placed slightly over the elbow: his forearms were enclosed in bluish armor while his fingers were colored brown.

Two short immobile wings formed from behind the shoulders and aimed both NW and NE: the emblem repeated close to the wings and was of a bigger size there plus two small straight lines set parallel to each other between the ear-pads and the shoulder-pads.

"What… A mummy which resurrected and then ran away from Cairo's Egyptian Museum…?" Omega looked amused.

"Yeah. No doubt." Harp Note grinned.

"Hah! Boast while you can. Come: my companions!" Pharaoh Man exclaimed.

"My turn! Name's Napalm Man and this place is a bonus to the great me~!"

Napalm Man's look was more "machine" than "humanoid" but he could be close to a meter and seventy like Pharaoh Man, too.

His main body was colored purple.

He had no nose and mouth but he did have green iris eyes set there: a muzzle-like object formed on the forehead: it had a round white base and the muzzle itself was colored orange.

Napalm Man's shoulders were shaped like arches and colored in a pale purple color: they had a thin square drawn towards the lower edge and an orange-colored stripe passing over the arch and heading towards the rear.

His arms' skin was colored black and his forearms were long cylinders which looked like guns: the spot where the elbow and the gun fused had a square white plastic piece while the main body of the gun was tinted purple: the rear end was a greenish circle and the guns' muzzle had a circular orange base and a greenish extension.

There was a gap below the torso around the waist before the lower body began.

This gap had Napalm Man's emblem set into it which consisted on a white edge with a downwards-aiming triangle drawn inside of it: the upward edge was tinted in a purple color with the rest of the triangle was colored orange instead: a ring circled the triangle close to the spike of the triangle as well.

This lower body was colored purple as well: it included an orange-colored piece spanning from the lower edge and continuing beneath the piece: Napalm Man's legs spread from there.

His legs were plain black: their armor began close to the knees: it included a square-shaped white-colored piece of armor past the ankle: the front part of the feet had a pale purple color while the rear part was colored in a black color.

"Obviously… Heat favors heat…" Omega calmly muttered.

"Who else is there?" Harp Note questioned.

"My name is Planet Man…"

Planet Man appealed as being around the height of the other "Darkloids" and his design was rather curious.

His head was a simple spheroid with a round metallic edge and black "skin" but had no nose or mouth yet it did have two eyes and two antennae-like formations coming out of its upper edge.

His main body was a planetoid-like spheroid having two curved white stripes spanning its diameter: three vertical diamond-shaped formations ran down the middle and sides of it: each stripe was composed of three diamonds: the rest of the body was colored blue.

His shoulders were detached from the body and hovering close to it: their design was very similar to that of the face: it had a central white spot and one antenna with three yellow rings downgrading in diameter as they climbed up.

The forearms were also detached from the main body and were divided in two halves by a black circular stripe.

The rear half of the forearms had a small vertical rectangle set over the stripe, were metallic gray in color and ended in cone-like shapes aiming upwards.

The front half was just the fingers which were colored yellow.

His legs, like the shoulders and forearms, were also detached from the main body as well: they also were divided in two by a black stripe.

The upper half had the rectangle set over the stripe, were metallic gray in color, too, were shaped like domes and a short cylinder sprouted from their upper edges to end as a disc having a small black button on the center of its surface.

The front half was colored yellow and ended in a cone-like shape as well.

"So! Who are our two conspirators?" Harp Note questioned.

"Ya mean Solid and Liquid?" Napalm Man sounded amused.

"Solid and Liquid?" Omega wondered.

"Heh! The guy who isn't fond of chatter is Solid: the cool manly guy is Liquid. Gotcha?" Napalm Man described.

"So they even use aliases to further the suspense… Yet… Harp. Can you remember any of the FMs which aren't around anymore who behaved like that?" Harp Note asked her.

"Pororon. Sorry. But I didn't know them very well. The only one I really knew was Ophiucus: but that was because we both are girls, so…" She admitted.

"Maybe Cygnus or Ox might remember…" Omega muttered.

"Chat-time's over! If ya wanna reach the city and face its guardians, then come and try to defeat us!" Napalm Man announced.

"Hah! Destroy!"

"Hah! Destroy!"

"Hah! Destroy!"

"They sound like repetitive Viruses…" Harp Note complained.

"Obviously… Grunts will always be grunts."

"Wha~t?" The three of them grumbled.

"Go!"

Omega dashed forward at mad speed while leaving afterimages of his own on his wake: he jumped atop the hovering Pharaoh Man and began to hit him with a barrage of fits on the face thus leaving him no time to react or to defend: he suddenly took out the saber weapon and plunged it on the forehead before jumping off him.

"Why, you…! Pharaoh Cube!"

Some stone blocks with Pharaoh Man's emblem on it materialized and fell down into the ground but Omega was already lifting Planet Man from behind to then throw him towards Pharaoh Man: both collided and the inertia made them crash into the ground and hit a Giga Mine Battle Card concealed there: both suffered grave damage and managed to recover their normal poses somehow.

"Why, you…!"

"Black Hole!"

"Meteor!"

Omega dodged both of those while Harp Note was dodging a volley of quick plasma rounds shot by Napalm Man using his arms' muzzles: he looked surprised.

"Ya look down on me and ya get busted!" Harp Note giggled.

"Why, you…! Vulcan Arm!"

One small greenish cannon with a round muzzle formed and began to shoot out quick rounds: Harp Note brought up her shield and they bounced off it to hit Napalm Man instead.

"The "Reflect" Ability came in handy!" She grinned.

"No way!" Napalm Man gasped.

"We cannot be defeated so easily!" Pharaoh Man exclaimed.

"But there is no hitting that enemy…!" Planet Man gasped.

"That's because I'm as fast as lighting…"

"Why, you…!" The three of them cursed.

"That's way too repetitive. Go say hi to your fallen companions in the Black Hole Server." Omega grinned.

"No way!"

"Way." Harp Note giggled.

"Watch out… It's about to rain "Crimson"…!" Omega grinned.

"Crimson…?" The three of them looked skywards.

A greenish beam of energy half a meter wide suddenly rained down from past the skies to then hit the area where the three enemies were standing at: they roared in agony as they blew up and a small crater formed on the area: Harp Note gasped and looked surprised while Omega was giggling aloud.

"Omega! Who gave you permission to control the "Energy Output System"?" Vadous demanded over the radio.

"Hey. It was just Cannon #7 firing at 5%." Omega shrugged.

"But we'd agreed that we wouldn't use this thing because the planetary shield system can output the energy back into outer space!"

"Ops. We've got a meeting in Troy, so… We'll go on ahead with Boba Feet's trademark and we'll talk about this later, _shachou_."

"Oi! Omega! Don't come up with insulting vulgar-like jokes, either!"

"Sure, sure, Mr. Stiff. Full speed ahead! _La barbe a rabord_!"

Laughing, Omega ignited his jet-pack and shot towards the horizon: Harp Note rolled her eyes and ignited hers, too.

15:18 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Here we are! Troy!"

"Are you sure this is this place's name?"

"It's an irony, Francesca."

"Hey! My name is _Misora_! I'm not Italian!"

"Who knows?"

"I know!"

"Omega!"

"Ops. Big Brother showed up."

"You've overrode my locks on your humor files!"

"I couldn't live without them!"

"Don't play the victim!"

"… Key."

"Catch it!"

Omega had been joking when he and Harp Note entered a devastated city's ruins: Vadous scolded him over the radio while Harp Note looked annoyed: two familiar voices rang out followed by the sound of the key segments dropping into the ground.

"Oho. So those three were the actual guardians, eh?"

"… Yeah."

"Catching up?"

"One of you is Solid and the other is Liquid…" Harp Note muttered.

"I can't feel them: they have something blocking the signal to begin with, you see..." Harp reported.

"Who cares? Let's go meet Mr. Boss!"

Omega rushed forward followed by Harp Note: they stopped in front of a walled circular building built using brown bricks and having the classical doorway blocking the entrance: it measured about ten meters of height and another ten of width.

"Hmmm… The stone blocks off all scanning attempts, so… There's no guessing what's waiting for us inside of that thing." Omega muttered while having a grin on his face.

"What are waiting for, then? Let's kill the suspense."

They placed the four segments of the square on the slot: the door shook and began to lift: immediately enough, though, an orange organic-like mass with nerve-like pathways drawn inside of it crawled out and began to spread while climbing up the height of the tower.

"W-what's that?" Harp Note gasped.

"An ugly monster, I'd say!" Omega grinned.

Something crawled out and emerged out of the tower.

This something's top had a small metallic circle with a red eye set inside of it complimented with two ear-like curved metallic shapes at both sides.

The main body had a column-like shape with a core spheroid on top of it plus a membrane which was covering it.

Metallic armor covered its back and two metallic detached forearms with claws were set at both sides of the core.

Two lance-like shapes originated from behind the thing.

It emitted a hollow roar while the Real Wave screen popped out:

"Proto Core"

"So it's named Proto Core…? Does it mean "proton"…?" Harp Note wondered.

"Dunno. But it's uglier than Ophiucus Queen." Omega grinned.

"OMEGA!" Vadous roared.

"Oho! Ya could go and compete to see which one has the biggest roar, _shachou_!" Omega joked.

"Take that monster-like thing down!"

"Roger, Admiral."

"I give up…!"

Proto Core suddenly began to bombard the field with machinegun-like bursts followed by a laser which left a small crater on the impact point: both barely dodged in time while Omega drew his gun and loaded it up to shoot a plasma round at the core's membrane thus incinerating it: he quickly attacked with his saber-like weapon while Harp Note drew a Sword Fighter X.

"Let's go! Sword Fighter X!"

Harp Note delivered several attacks in a row but was suddenly interrupted by the armored claws which shot forward, plunged into her shoulders, and made her crash against a building's concrete wall thus getting partly stuck there: she groaned and tried to break free.

"Misora! Watch out!" Harp gasped.

Harp Note looked forward and spotted the orange mass crawling towards her: she quickly broke free and jumped off the wall to land in a patch of concrete not covered by the mass: Omega was now jumping and dancing atop the rear section of the core's armor.

"Dancing dancer of dance~!" He rhymed.

"Stop meddling around!" Vadous grumbled.

"Drill Arm X! Hammer Weapon X!"

Harp Note hit the core with both weapons thus cracking some of its covering and making it glow with increasing intensity: the monster howled again.

"It's gotta be close to the limit… I'll deliver the _coup de grace_ myself with a totally cool and fast move." Omega announced.

"Hope it's not the orbital weapon again…" Harp Note muttered with a hint of skepticism.

"He can't: I revoked his access, and, besides, that area is protected by the planetary shield system. In short: he can't even if he wanted to."

"HRA~H!"

"GUGA~H!"

The monster blew up and one medallion with the word "PROTO" written into it jumped off and hit the floor: Harp Note picked it up.

"3 outta 10… We're making some progress." She muttered.

"Not bad! It's my turn to come out into the stage." A slightly manly voice rang out.

Someone dropped down from atop one building and Harp Note turned around to face the newcomer.

"_Mazokuchou_." He announced.

The newcomer didn't seem to be taller than Harp Note.

His eyes' irises were colored red and he had some blackish hair coming out from behind the helmet shaped like the Alphabet character "X".

His helmet had a triangle pointing downwards which ended slightly before the nose's spot: the central section was colored deep purple and had two yellow rectangles set there: a yellow band formed above the center section of the helmet and spanned to the rear end of the center section.

His ear-pads had a copy of his chest emblem's drawing: the right and left sides of the helmet had a paler shade of purple paint over them plus two curved thick lines signaling the "frontiers" between each portion: one yellow rectangle was also set on the rear of the helmet.

He wore a bodysuit on the main color of which was black with purplish stripes running down the sides of it covering his body.

Some golden plates were assembled over his shoulders.

His forearms were colored purple and so were his boots.

His chest emblem had a golden rim around it: the drawing of it was two opposite halves of a hexagon colored blue and facing each other: two black pyramids were set on the SW and NE corners being connected by a thin black straight line.

His back had some kind of backpack set on it of a hexagonal shape and colored in a pale shade of purple: four small round objects sprouted from the NW, NE, SW and SE corners coupled with a pale blue square dot set near the lower edge of it.

He looked amused and didn't seem to be older than Harp Note, either.

"_Mazokuchou_ Umbra…" He introduced himself.

"Umbra?" She wondered.

"So you're the so-famous _mazokuchou_… I wouldn't place you past 13 years old physically, though." Omega muttered.

"Correct. I'm set to be 13 years old."

"And you're mobilized by your "Master" as a proxy."

"Yeah. But let me tell you something: there are three "multiple – encounter Bosses" and I'm one of them."

"Guess Burai is the other one… So we'd be missing one?"

"But he'll make his _debut_ soon, too."

"And you have another medallion. I feel like I'm Lestrade V 2205 to begin with." Omega grinned.

"Oho. Not so fast! You'll have to gather seven of the medallions before you can try battling us three and getting the other three."

"Hmpf. Fine."

"I've unlocked another Warp Point… But if ya wanna take a break you're welcome to! I've gotta pick up the residual data anyway with the help of Solid and Liquid, so... I'm busy enough."

"Are ya gonna show out your secret weapon?"

"Huh? Secret weapon? You mean my "Secret Ability"…?"

"No, no! The secret weapon a good guy always carries." Omega corrected with a shrug.

"I don't follow you."

"Omega…!" Vadous began to sound angered.

"Ops. _Shachou_'s stock market investment went ashtray!"

"Stop trolling around." Vadous sentenced.

"O. K. But I could show this guy what I mean, too."

"No need to!" Harp Note told him.

"Oho. Catching up?"

"Yeah. And it isn't funny."

"G-guess so…" Umbra nervously muttered as he stepped back.

A Warp Point opened close to the spot they were standing at: Harp Note suddenly grabbed Omega's right wrist and dragged him along to it to then disappear: Umbra scratched the right side of his helmet.

"Hmpf. That red man is well-informed." The commanding voice muttered with a hint of amusement.

"Is that so, Master?" Umbra asked.

"Anyway… Continue with your mission, Umbra."

"Roger, sir."

Umbra stretched and took out a small capsule-shaped object which he used to suck in all data fragments hovering around the area: he formed a smug smile.

"One day… I'll battle this "new" Rock Man…!"

He giggled under his breath…


	12. Chapter 12: Breakout

**Chapter 12: Breakout**

16:04 PM (Japan Time), Saturday May the 29th…

"… Good. We're all here."

"What's up, Boss?"

"Let's take a break and try to analyze what we've gathered insofar."

"Bertie~! Ya have a competitor: and his style is more daring!"

"W-what?"

"OMEGA!"

"Ops."

"As expected…"

"Pororon! Will someone explain to me what's going on?"

"Sorry, Harp. But you wouldn't get it."

"Fine…"

"Sorry for the delay… I needed Kir Osh's help to unlock one stuck storage bay door."

"Yeah. And we suspect that blonde guy is the culprit."

"Omega…!"

"Heh, heh, heh. No pain, no gain!"

"Hah! I think the same."

"Not you too, Rock…!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Yeah! Me too!"

"Sir Omega sure gets into messes…"

"That's why you should be serious, Sigma…"

"Guess so…"

Vadous, Shidou, Subaru, Misora, War Rock, Harp, Omega, Blood Shadow and Sigma were standing inside of a square metallic room having a metallic table set on the middle of it: two new persons came in and looked towards Omega with mistrusting glares.

Both of them looked on their twenties and sported body armor similar to that of Vadous' plus one sword sheath plus one Alphabet letter set on their chest areas.

The person standing at the left had black hair and brown eyes with reading glasses over them.

His Alphabet letter was the "L" character.

The second newcomer had blond hair and brown eye irises.

His Alphabet letter was the "K" character.

Omega was shrugging and looking amused but the other presents didn't seem to find it amusing save for War Rock.

"Heh, heh, heh. But I did sweep the ground with those three punks standing on it, didn't I, _shachou_?"

"That's because you hacked into one of the weapons!"

"Ops. I can hear Confucius' voice calling out to Bertie~…"

"Will you stop pestering Subaru already?"

"But I had to tell him his rival is more daring."

"I don't see anything daring on that Umbra guy."

"But that's because it's hidden on the reverse."

"The reverse…? Oi! Don't come up with lame jokes again!"

"Maybe ya prefer Dragon's kilometric speeches to me?"

"No."

"Heh, heh, heh. Always having a SAA revolver hidden beneath the cushion…" Omega chuckled.

"I don't see the point of that. Scram."

"Scramming scram scrams…"

"GET OUT!"

Omega began to walk out but stopped next to Subaru and patted his right shoulder before running out in a blur: a sticker with a lipstick mark had been glued on Subaru's right shoulder.

"Omega – san…!" He groaned.

"Really… Can't he do anything else but to try to provoke me?" Misora complained.

"Guess not." Kir Osh grumbled.

"Ahem, ahem! Anyway! Eight Warp Points are open and we've used seven of them. But I've detected another eight which are waiting to be unlocked as we progress. This is really set as if we were playing a game… The guy behind this has gotta have a lot of sarcasm."

"Sure thing… His "Darkloid" designs and "Bosses" get weirder with every passing hour." Sigma grinned.

"We're pending finding out another four main "Bosses" and one "frequent encounter Boss" which is in league with that Umbra guy and is supposed to be the same category Burai is." Blood Shadow muttered.

"Instinct tells me he'll show up once Lartes and Kir Osh get their hands on the 4th medallion… But one thing has changed: V3 Viruses have begun to generate on the "completed" areas and are gathering around the HQ as if to defend it… It won't be easy to get past them once we gather the ten medallions and get there." Vadous reported.

"Maybe Demon King fears that he'll run out of "Darkloids" to defend the inside of the HQ?" Subaru ventured.

"Or maybe it's a fake lead to give us that impression and he's saving up the tougher ones… We're pending trying to identify the two Denpa Bodies called "Solid" and "Liquid"…"

"True."

"All hints suggest we've met them before and we've got a small pool of candidates… Yet… I can't shake the feeling we're forgetting about someone."

"We can discard Phantom Black: he'd never work for anyone and even if it's a copy or reconstruction like the "R" guys Sirius controlled it doesn't truly sound like him." Acid reported.

"Yeah… It isn't that Corvus jerk, either."

"The signature wasn't very strong, so… I doubt it being a high-grade enemy…" Harp ventured next.

"Calling on Bertie~!" Omega's voice suddenly rang out through a speaker in the ceiling.

"OMEGA!" Vadous cursed.

"Cool it down, Boss!" Lartes told him.

"Grfjtx! We'll talk once this is over!"

"About secret weapons?"

"NO!"

"About Dragon's philosophy?"

"No!"

"About…"

"About your silly behavior!"

"Oho. Good catch, Admiral."

Vadous typed something into a Real Wave screen and the speaker shut down: he got a twitch over his right eye and looked rather annoyed before Lartes walked over to him and tapped his shoulders from behind: Vadous seemed to ease a bit.

"Let this be a warning, Sigma." He warned him.

"R-roger…" Sigma gulped.

"See?" Blood Shadow drily asked.

"Oh. Leave me alone."

"Grrr! You two! Hurry it up: I'm itching to come out again and destroy those guys!" War Rock exclaimed.

"Cool it down, Rock! And don't begin to swipe the air because you'll end up shattering something."

"Pororon!" Harp giggled.

"War Rock – kun is way too hyperactive." Misora shrugged.

"We'll get in the move, Boss." Kir Osh told him.

"Good. We'll monitor your progress in live from here."

Shidou was chewing one of his "Sweet Candy" bars at a mad speed: Lartes lifted his eyebrows and then walked over to him.

"Akatsuki – kun: you'd do well to try to limit the daily amount of those if you don't want to regret it later on."

"Man." Shidou rolled his eyes.

"I warned you, Shidou." Acid brought up.

"Oh. Shut up, Mr. Speaker."

"I am not a speaker!" He protested.

"Akatsuki – san and Acid have a… slightly strange relationship…"

"Just say they like to bicker!" War Rock laughed.

"They don't like to bicker: Akatsuki – san is too rebellious."

"Oho. Ms. Perfect strikes back!"

War Rock laughed in a hysterical manner while Misora directed a dull glare at him which made Subaru gulp…

16:18 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Gra~h! Die, die and DIE!"

"Stop him already!"

"Get rid of that barrier first!"

"Where's Solid when you need him?"

"Dunno!"

"Whatever you lowlifes attack me with is in vain!"

"Shut up!"

"You shut up! DIE!"

"Mad Vulcan X!"

"Gu~h!"

"Now!"

"Take this!"

Umbra was fighting Burai in front of the shattered capsule-like device where he'd been restrained into: his eyes were shining purple and he didn't look like he was totally stable: Umbra and "Liquid" had been trying to stop him so Umbra used the Mad Vulcan X to disable the Mu Rejection: "Liquid" threw a purple-colored spheroid about the size of a tennis ball at Burai: it hit his chest, got stuck there and produced an electrical current which managed to knock him out.

"Huff… Huff… What a guy! He's half-insane and tries to destroy everything on his path… He's building up resistance to the knock-outs and the capsule as well…! _Maou – sama_ won't like this. And where the heck is Solid at, anyway? Had he been around, we'd brought this guy down faster and without sweating so much!"

"I told you: I dunno!"

"Grfjtx! Help me close this guy in the spare capsule."

"Okay…"

Umbra and an unidentified silhouette picked the unconscious Burai and dragged him inside of another capsule: they secured him using energy-formed restrains and attached some wires with a sensor at their end into the forehead jewel.

"What was that scandal?" Someone asked.

"F?" Umbra asked.

"Yeah. That's me." A new unidentified figure announced as he stepped into the lab.

"Well! Burai tried to run out while in the middle of a brainwashing process which left him half-insane and eager to destroy anything in sight. We've barely managed to knock him out but we don't know how much time we'll be able to exert control over him."

"Where's Solid?"

"That's what I'd like to know!"

"Oh! Wait, wait. Maybe he went to the observation room: he looked down for some reason or another so I thought it'd be best if I left him alone for a while…"

"… I can guess why… I'll go talk with him later on."

"Sure…"

"Anyway… I'll make my debut after those two guys manage to bring down the 4th "Boss" and we'll see how they handle my power. I'm looking forward to it and no wonder, my fellows…" F. announced with a grin.

"Oho. Terrific." Liquid sounded amused.

"I've started the system up again and added an energy field around the capsule capable of outputting energy into the outside of the HQ… This should keep him still for a little while."

"A little's always better than nothing…" Liquid shrugged.

"So? Burai is resisting the effects of the "Demon God", then?" F. asked Umbra.

"Yeah. And I dunno what'll happen when Rock Man and Blood Shadow face it and defeat it: but maou – sama must've taken this _scenario_ into mind already, I'd say!"

"Good point…" Liquid muttered.

"So?"

The "Demon King" stepped into the room and the three of them quickly stood firm while saluting: he scanned the room with a dull glare and then shrugged.

"Since you managed to stop the guy before he could come out of the lab room, then… I'll praise you."

"Ah… But I just came in, _maou – sama_… I had no involvement." F. admitted as he bowed.

"Whatever… Where's Solid?"

"I think he's at the observation room and thinking…" Liquid admitted as he bowed, too.

"Fine. You know your roles, so… I'll be overseeing everything from the main room… Is the "secret weapon" ready?"

"Ah! It's 99% complete, sir… I only need to finish calibrating the control program to handle all of their signals with the slightest possible delay between send-out and return…" Umbra reported.

"Good. Set it up so that I can switch between each "device" as well! Does the FTL travel tunnel work?"

"Perfectly, sir… The trip would be quick, met with no obstacle, and, above anything, undetected. Those guys won't know what hit them and they'll suddenly find that their planet has become a wreck and a new era of chaos has begun…"

"Good work."

"Thank you very much, sir."

"I helped tune the electronics and build up the immunity to Noise to allow for their travel, too!" Liquid added.

"And I strengthened the "key components" to resist several attacks as well…" F. admitted.

"What did Solid do, then?"

"Solid…? Ah! True, true… He loaded the "key components" and checked on the engines…" Liquid reported.

"Excellent… My "master plan" is progressing… When would we be able to execute it?"

"I estimate 4 hours at the most… They need to finish loading up and we have to caliber their guidance systems so that they don't get lost in the FTL travel portion…" Umbra replied.

"Obviously… Don't rush it, either. Make sure to work out all details and don't worry about those guys: even if they can defeat 3 bosses in 4 hours they'll still be missing another 3…" The "Demon King" began to sound and looked amused.

"Roger, sir!"

The man turned away and began to walk out while chuckling aloud: the three of them sighed in relief.

"Master gives off an eerie vibe…!" F. muttered.

"Yeah… No wonder… We all are here because we're to be his pawns in this "game", so…" Liquid shrugged.

"… Sorry for the delay…" Solid apologized as he walked in from the right side of the room.

"_Aibou_! About time… We've gotta go out to supervise another batch of "Darkloids"…" Liquid told him.

"Alright… Later."

Both of them exited the lab while Umbra and F. sighed in relief before glancing at Burai's immobile form: he had a grimace drawn on his face and his jewel was pulsating with a pale purple glow.

"I'm in charge here. Go and make your debut, F."

"Thanks. Later."

Umbra ran outta the lab and into the observation room: he leant on the lower edge of the observation window and sighed as he examined the landscape spreading from there.

"Heh… Those guys can't begin to imagine what's waiting for them and both Solid and Liquid will make it hard for them to identify them: there'll be a sweet moment of fear, confusion and terror, even… But let's not look too forward: this day still has a lot of hours left and we're gonna have a lot of work trying to complete Master's "scheme"…" He began to form a smug smile on his face.

He sat on the ground next to the window to look on and seemed to be thinking about something.

_Solid… I understand how you must feel given your circumstances but I guess that you'll have to bear with it: that's our purpose as set by Master, anyway… But I don't plan on sticking around Master forever. One day I will break free and then make use of my intelligence… The chance might take a long time to show up, but… It ain't impossible. And I've gotta behave or else something worse than deletion will happen to me… I won't let that happen…_

He stretched and stood up before starting a set of gymnastics exercises: he suddenly frowned.

_What did that Omega guy mean by "secret weapon" anyway? Maybe I need to look it up when I return to my room… But that Harp Note girl didn't find it funny nor did his Boss… Guess it's a lame joke which isn't even worth checking out… Hmmm… I wonder if F. will bring trouble to those two humans… It'll be amusing to see…_

He giggled under his breath and formed a grin…


	13. Chapter 13: Final team

**Chapter 13: Final team**

16:35 PM (Japan Time), Saturday May the 29th…

"…This new Warp Point leads here…"

"And there's an ambush ahead of us: obviously enough."

"Heh, heh, heh. Welcome to my oasis!"

"Intruders confirmed…"

"Shah, shah, shah! We'll make mincemeat of them!"

Lartes and Kir Osh, now sporting metallic helmets with a triangular breathing filter device and transparent blue shades, had stepped into an oasis in the middle of the desert filled with palm trees plus a small lake and a gigantic spear-shaped rock sprouting from beneath the earth which could be as tall as 500 meters and as wide as 300 meters.

Three "Darkloids" were standing in between the rock and the lake.

"I, Plant Man, will turn you into nutrients for this oasis!"

His face's skin was also tinted black: he had a small refined nose plus a mouth: his eyes didn't have irises and were colored green: a flower shape formed around his head and aimed backwards: its main color was a pale pink which then turned deeper in some spots near the far edge: two thorns came out from head where the ears would be at.

His head also had a red diamond set over the forehead and what was visible of the neck indicated that it was also colored black.

His upper body was tinted purple with two rows of seven pink-like dots forming a vertical pattern close to the inner edges of his main body: two orange-colored leaves shaped like a shirt's collar.

The space inside of the collar was colored lush green and that same color spread to the shoulders and until the wrists.

His shoulders had two white thorns each and his forearms had a bulb-like shape with four leaves spreading from the wrist.

These leaves had been built in a cross-shaped formation: his hands' "skin" was black in color.

The outer edge of his main body was white in color but it began to gain tints of green and turning blacker in tonality until it reached the plain feet without any distinctive features.

Three circular pink-like circular bands marked the border between each layer of color until they reached the spot beneath the knees: the other segments had an uncolored band separating them.

Two spiraling vines with thorns forming out of them came out from behind his body and reached the ground: they began as lush green but turned pale green when they reached the end.

"Intruders confirmed… Initiate extermination protocol… Unit Gravity Man will trap them in a gravitational Hell…"

Gravity Man's main body was a spheroid split in two with both halves hovering into the air at a short distance between them: his main color was red.

The face was shaped like a dome: four square white teeth which didn't look they could move were set on the lower edge while two brown triangles pointing SW and SE were set on the face: his eyes were round, yellow, and "closed" as evidenced by a horizontal line splitting them in half.

The top part of the head had two circular metallic pieces set one atop the other and two antennae – like extensions as well.

The upper half had a large brownish circular band with short vertical stripes on them as if to mark the boundary between each segment: two cylinders came out from behind the upper half and they had that same circular rotating band on them.

The lower body had a white lower-half-of-a-circle drawing with a small vertical stripe dividing it in two: a white circle with a red arrow was aiming at the SE and it looked like an indicator of something: the body also had that brown rotating band on the upper edge.

His arms were detached from the body and hovered close to the lower edge of the body: they included the shoulders which were metallic gray plus a round white edge aiming NW: the segment inside of that was colored in a brownish color.

The arms and forearms were shaped like two cone-like bases with two round rotating brown bands on the middle section

These ended in three metallic claw-like extensions.

The final part to be seen were three metallic pieces which diminished in size as they stepped downwards: the third segment had a pyramidal-like end.

"Intruder disposal protocol activated…"

"Shah, shah, shah! Shaddup! Needle Man – sama will plunge his needles through these guys!"

The "Darkloid" named Needle Man was as tall as his companion Plant Man.

His face's skin had been painted in black coloring, too, and he had no nose: his eyes were colored yellow with red irises and a smug smile was drawn on his face: a small red vertical rectangle was set on the forehead.

His upper body was shaped like a circle with a dome over it: the color of his choice was navy blue: the front part of the circle had a rectangular vertical cavity cut out with eight slightly curved metallic pieces set in a vertical row.

Four needles came out of the dome part of the body (and having an orange circular edge circling the spot from where they sprouted out from) around the head which was drawn inside of a larger needle.

His arms were human-like given how they were attached to the body: orange-colored bands split it in two halves with the upper half being colored navy blue and the lower half tinted sky blue: a needle came out of each shoulder, too: four blackish long fingers were set at the ends of the arms.

The boots began over the knees and followed the same pattern as in the arms: a needle came out from the armor over each knee: they had a small hollow cavity cut close to the heel.

"Shah, shah, shah! I'm more venomous than a Brazilian wandering spider: fear me!" He announced with a grin.

"So! You guys are hiding the 4th Boss' key." Lartes calmly guessed.

"And you want a fight." Kir Osh added.

"Hmpf! Such is our _raison d'être_." Plant Man shrugged.

"Protocol dictates immediate disposal of intruders…" Gravity Man intoned in his robotic tone of voice.

"Sha, sha, sha! What are we waiting for? Let's go! Needle Cannon!"

"Rose Needle!"

"Gravity Hold."

"Giga Class Battle Card: Pain Hell Flame!"

"Mega Class Battle Card: Burai X!"

"No way!" Both Plant Man and Needle Man gasped.

"Warning! Warning!"

Lartes had dodged a volley of needles shot by Needle Man after replacing his hands for guns' muzzles plus a shower of thorns originated by Plant Man's vines: Kir Osh flipped away of a purple-colored sphere of energy which Gravity Man had formed within his hands and then thrown forward: Lartes summoned Jack Corvus to bombard the field using purple-tinted flames while Kir Osh summoned Burai and hit Gravity Man several times.

"Guah!"

"Nya~h!"

"Gu~h!"

The three of them suffered heavy damage but they were still standing.

"What?"

A purplish "aura" of power surrounded their bodies by now.

"If we hadn't used the "Dark Chip", then...!" Plant Man cursed.

"Shah, shah, shah! They'd been able to beat us…!" Needle Man cursed.

"Why, you…!" Gravity Man intoned.

"Regarding those toys… We have a counter-weapon."

"Yeah. Mu Light!"

Kir Osh drew a Battle Card which depicted a person clad in ancient robes seen from behind and from the waist upwards: eight cylindrical streams of white light spanned the whole height of the drawing.

"Take this!"

"Vanish."

The eight columns of light formed around each "Darkloid" to then draw closer and become one: the three of them roared as a purple-like gas was expelled from their bodies before they blew up: the "gas" was suddenly pulled away by something before the four pieces of the Boss' Room key were dropped into the ground.

"Heh, heh, heh. Interesting toys! Ya guys are something. I'd love to stay and chat but we've got job to do. _No pain_, _no gain_! Right, Solid?"

"… Yeah. Maybe." Solid dully replied.

"They're gone…" Kir Osh muttered.

"Let's go tell this Boss that it's fired, too."

"Sure…"

They headed over to the rock and inserted the key into the cavity: the door lifted up and allowed way in: both quickly ran down a wide tunnel before exiting into a huge chamber decorated just like being in the middle of outer space with stars, constellations, comets and planets.

"Foolish humans… Stepping so confidently into my territory… Take in _maou – sama'_s anger flames!" A manly voice boomed out.

Something hovered down from above and stopped in front of both Lartes and Kir Osh: they stepped back and gasped.

"H-HUGE~!" Kir Osh uttered.

"W-who the heck are you?" Lartes demanded.

"My name is… _Duo_."

"Duo?"

The one named Duo was a giant easily over three and half meters tall.

The head was cylindrical in form: the eyes were hexagonal in shape, being set inside of black cavities and didn't have irises: they were colored white thus not discerning any emotion: a nose was built below them while his mouth was a mere thin line incapable of moving.

Blue armor was built on the inner edge of the head starting around the eyes' cavities: a red diamond had been placed over his forehead surrounded by grayish edges which were part of a circular band spanning the whole diameter of the large head: two "horns" sprouted from the sides of the head while aiming upwards: the inner edge was tinted using a blackish metallic color while the out edge was white.

His main body was a white spheroid sans legs and having an octagon-shaped blue metallic edge set close to the lower edge of his body: several golden-colored rods aimed inwards until they ended at the bottom of the cavity which had a navy blue circle inside of it: a golden pattern reminiscent of the Alphabet letter "Y" formed on both sides of the cavity and circled the body.

Three "levels" of circles which became smaller as they climbed formed the neck: the middle section had blue-colored trapeze-shaped formations scaled on it.

His shoulders were gigantic spheroids with two blackish metallic thorns coming out of the right one and aiming south and north.

Armor had been added there and it circled half of the shoulder.

The left one, by comparison, had a red dome-shaped object set on it surrounded by that same armor.

His arms didn't have elbows on them and ended on gigantic hands having blue armor over them: the wrist was decorated with golden stripes aiming northwards: the section before the fingers had a three-point goldenrod star symbol set on them: the fingers were colored white.

"I am a program charged with the task of disposing of any intruders which come into my territory." He announced.

"That Demon King guy sure blows it outta proportion…" Lartes muttered while lifting his eyebrows.

"Yeah… This guy has 3000 HP just like Sirius… We'll need to hit him with all we've got." Kir Osh whispered.

"Giant Hook!"

His fists suddenly detached and flew towards both men: they barely managed to jump over them and they drew Sword Fighter X Battle Cards which they used to hit the core section: Duo merely projected a "face" made of reddish energy and displaying anger on it: the attack hit both combatants and they growled something as they tried to recover.

"Wait… This guy must have a bomb inside, too… We could trigger it by using one of our hacking programs…!" Lartes whispered.

"I'll stall for time." Kir Osh quickly replied with a smile.

Lartes jumped backwards while Kir Osh drew a new Battle Card which he aimed at Duo.

"Giga Card: Thousand Kick!"

Kir Osh delivered several attacks and quickly snuck a Count Bomb X inside of the core cavity: it detonated thus opening a crack inside of it and revealing part of the core program.

"Foolish one. Be erased!"

"I wonder 'bout that…"

Lartes suddenly threw a Giza Wheel X inside of the crack to make it hit the core program: purple-colored static electricity formed over Duo's body and he seemed to become paralyzed.

"My body… It will not move…!" He muttered.

"Let's get outta here NOW and run away as far as possible: I don't wanna be close by when this guy detonates." Lartes instructed.

"Roger. Jet-pack program: execute!"

"Escaping is futile…!" Duo proclaimed.

Both of them ran out and brought the door down: they continued until they'd come out of the oasis and landed into a small depression into the terrain just as a figure dropped down from one Wave Road.

"It's my turn to make my debut! My name is… Forte!"

"Forte…?"

The one named Forte sported a worn out brownish cloak which covered up to his nose.

His eyes' irises were blood red and looked amused.

An azure-colored star-shaped jewel was set on his forehead.

His helmet had two fin-shaped segments colored orange above the ear pads.

His white and orange boots could be seen, too, where the cloaked ended.

Overall, he looked about a meter and sixty tall give or take.

"So! You must the missing "multiple encounters Boss"…" Lartes calmly deduced while lifting his eyebrows.

"Yeah! And… Wait! Duo's signature isn't gone… You actually _ran away_ from a fight?" Forte suddenly asked.

"Not really… Our insider is at work. I'd say another 10 seconds."

"Insider…? 10 seconds…?"

"You might want to duck."

"What?"

A brutal explosion suddenly annihilated the whole gigantic spear-shaped rock and turned the oasis into a patch of scorched terrain: one dune nearby was blown out as well while the air roared due to the expanding sonic shockwave: Forte was knocked face-up into the sand as the terrain suddenly formed short slopes aiming upwards: the scandal began to die down and one medallion suddenly fell down at Lartes' feet: he picked it up to examine it.

"Huh? Oh. Curious crest…" He muttered.

The drawing inside of the medallion had a general shape reminiscent of the Alphabet letter "V" but it had two short rectangular extensions close to the base aiming outwards and two small triangles on the inner sides aiming towards a hollow diamond set in the center of the opening: it was colored purple.

"W-what? Duo _exploded_? That wasn't in the plan!" Forte gasped.

"A hijacking program…!" The voice of "Demon King" exclaimed through a Voltic Eye Virus.

"Correct." Kir Osh shrugged.

"Are you insane?" The man sounded incredulous.

"We didn't feel like dancing to the tune of your Louisiana trumpet so we rushed things up." Lartes grinned.

"What Louisiana trumpet? I've never been there!"

"It's an irony."

"And I thought you lowlifes were serious!"

"We are. But we won't become mere pawns in an RPG game. How's that for a change?" Lartes calmly replied.

"4 of 10 medallions… We're pending another 3 "Static" Bosses before facing that trio having the remaining 3… And I stake anything that you're stalling for time." Kir Osh told him.

"Che!"

"Eh… What should I do, Master…?" Forte nervously asked.

"Return to the base NOW!"

"R-roger, Master! Have at ya!"

Forte jumped back atop the Wave Road and fled the area as Lartes and Kir Osh headed towards the Warp Point.

"Oi, oi! You better not be thinking of doing the same to us!" Liquid's voice rang out.

"No. That guy was an exception 'cause he was too big and would've made us waste too much time."

"… They're serious, Liquid." Solid told him.

"Ya should've told me earlier!"

"Didn't Master say it?"

"Che. True…"

"Let's leave those two to their quarrels and head back: the 1st team must be on their way to the next Warp Point." Kir Osh grinned.

"Let's tell them to dance the hula - hoop dance." Omega suddenly joked.

"Very funny." Lartes drily replied.

"Yo! Doc! Frankenstein XVIII needs a hand to patch up Monster Mark XXXIII so hurry over here~!" Omega laughed.

"I don't get the point. At all." Kir Osh drily muttered.

"That's because ya have 0 points in your record list!"

"I don't have any record list: go draw a copy of the _Mona Lisa_." He fumed.

"Sure thing, Mr. Universe~!"

"Stop with the silly nicknames already, Omega!" Vadous hissed.

"Ops. _Shachou_ found me out."

"Get – outta – the –command – bridge – now!" Vadous slowly intoned: he drew breath before each word and exhaled it after the last word to sound menacing.

"Oho! Scary Man showed up, so… I'm off to playing _olé toro_ with Ox Fire Omega on our VR Simulator… Later, _shachou_!"

"I'm no _shachou_!"

Lartes and Kir Osh stepped into the Warp Point to return into the Wave Road: a column of smoke could be seen rising from the spot where Duo's cave had been at along with flames.

"Heh, heh, heh. We could name that Big Baddy's Crater." Sigma joked.

"Very original." Blood Shadow drily replied.

"Yo! Rock Man! Whaddya think?"

"S-scary…!" Rock Man admitted.

"No wonder…" Lartes shrugged.

"Heh! I'll use this same trick on the next "Boss" we meet!"

"You won't, Rock!" Rock Man sentenced.

"Che! You guys don't have any sense of thrill!"

"Thrill leads to disaster." Blood Shadow reminded him.

"Yeah. Thrill Man and Disaster Man can't fuse, then!"

"I don't see the point." Kir Osh muttered.

"'Cause ya need a magnifying glass to read the small print letter in the job contract: that's why!" War Rock hysterically laughed.

"No good…! Oh come on… Gimme a break already, guys!"


	14. Chapter 14: Demon God's Power

**Chapter 14: Demon God's Power**

17:08 PM (Japan Time), Saturday May the 29th…

"… That stone tower looks like the spot where our next "Boss" is waiting at…"

"And three grunts will come out to greet us…"

"Heh! I'll smash them!"

"Hah, hah, hah, ha~h! Burn, burn, bu~rn!"

"Hah! I'll make them destroy each other."

"Uo~h… Let them be buried in this desert…"

Blood Shadow and Rock Man had walked up and stopped close to a tall brown tower made of stone bricks about ten meters tall and about ten wide as well: a ramp was built climbing up around the main body before stopping into the very top: two figures had suddenly jumped down from atop the tower while a third one appeared from beneath the sand.

"I'm Burner Man: I wanna burn something!"

The "Darkloid" named Burner Man struck as being around a meter and sixty tall or above.

His eyes didn't have irises on them and were colored blue while a grin covered his face.

His head was surrounded by a blood red metallic helmet which had two of those fang-like objects set on both sides of it.

His emblem was set on the forehead and its drawing was a simplistic oval-shaped flame colored sky blue.

Red metallic armor was built over his upper body and it had four metallic objects shaped like fangs set over the shoulders: each one had a yellow stripe close to the backwards edge which had a blackish metallic cover.

His shoulders were oddly placed lower than they should be at, half-way down the upper body.

Two short black arms without elbows emerged from them and ended in long cylinders colored red with a yellow stripe and having black hands at their end: the emblem was repeated there.

The body below the armor had armor with some vertical stripes set on them.

His legs were free of armor until just past the knee: two cylinders with the same coloring pattern as the ones in the arms were set there and two armored feet with black soils emerged from below them.

"Heh, heh, heh! I'm so itching to burn them!"

"Not so fast. I'll rather hypnotize them into destroying each other. Flash Man has spoken."

His face had no mouth or nose drawn into them and was a gray metallic piece instead: the area around the sides of the head and the jaw was colored navy blue: his eyes did have irises but were red in color: the top of his helmet had a general tear shaped with the upper section being colored yellow.

Flash Man's armor's main color was navy blue: a small cavity shaped like an arch was built on the front of his armor while two small greenish spots could be spotted on the chest area: two curved handle-like metallic tubes were set on his back, too plus two shirt collar – like formations the upper edge of with was colored metallic gray.

His shoulders were shaped as round spheroids: the middle section had a silver metallic band circling it plus a yellow dome-like form: the arms were colored black and, like most Net Navis, didn't have elbows: the forearms were covered by a partial dagger-like armor which only covered the upper part being colored blue with silver edges: the forearm had a gray metallic armlet set on the wrist as well.

His emblem was set on the furthest edge of the forearm and consisted on a bright yellow star with four spikes set over a dim yellow background.

The body below the upper torso and legs was colored black until the knees where his boots began.

The only special trait about them was a metallic gray triangle aiming downwards on each one plus the front edge of the boots was tinted in white.

"My Hypnosis Flash will make you lowlifes fight each other to death: I'll save myself the trouble of fighting, even! That's how a strategy is executed, you fools!" He proclaimed.

"Uo~h… Flash Man! That wasn't in our orders…"

"Oh. Shut up, Desert Man."

Desert Man (as if his name wasn't enough of a hint) seemed to be made up of just sand: his body rose out of the ground like a small tower but had no arms or legs: two round purple eyes shone from within a black space and a large black mouth sans tooth could be seen, too, and they created a creepy impression.

The upper portion of his body had three circles climbing upwards which slowly decreased in width: they had some square hollow spots on them, too plus a nose-like formation.

The only other noticeable things of his main body were three dome-shaped formations set in a row on each side of the body having a drawing into it: the outer edge was orange while the insides had two black shapes similar to the Alphabet letter "M" drawn there.

Two gigantic hands made out of sand and having four fingers each emerged from the ground, too.

"Wha~t? He protested.

"Shut up!" Flash Man growled.

"You lowlife… Trying to go solo and get all the glory without even fighting them?" Desert Man questioned.

"Get lost." Flash Man scoffed.

"You two! Focus." Burner Man growled.

"Shut up." Both snapped at him.

"Wha~t?" He growled.

"Heh, heh, heh! War Rock – sama's "friendly fire effect" has been engaged and it's gonna save us a lot of trouble: they're so gonna kill each other at this rate!" War Rock chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah…" Both sounded skeptical.

"Oi, oi! You guys! Be serious!" Liquid called out.

"… Hmpf." Solid sounded amused.

"Oi! Solid! What's that for?"

"Don't ask me."

"And who do I ask, then? Umbra? Forte?"

"Do as you like, Liquid. Just don't drag me along."

"Che. Trying to play the cool guy, eh?"

"Maybe."

"I liked dealing with you when you were more _naïve_!" Liquid muttered aloud.

"I turned serious. Let's scram before they can sniff us."

"Che. We'll settle this later. You guys! Fight like men!"

"Shaddup!" The three of them snapped.

"Questioning MY orders, you bothersome foolish grunts?" Demon King's voice rang out through the Voltic Eye.

"Uo~h! No, Great Supreme Master!" The three of them kneeled (but Desert Man could only incline his body forward, though) and sounded scared.

"Fight!" Demon King commanded.

"Neon Light!"

"Burning Jet!"

"Lion Head!"

Flash Man formed domes of yellow-colored electricity on the palms of his hands which travelled across the ground: Burner Man suddenly switched his hands for burners' muzzles and his "fangs" began to expel bluish flames thus propelling him forward: Desert Man's "hands" sunk in the sand and re-emerged as objects shaped like lions' heads with red eyes sans iris.

"Illegal Battle Card: Dancing Blade X!"

"Illegal Mega Card: Brachio Wave X!"

Rock Man's attack hit Desert Man and Flash Man given how they were the furthest located enemies: Brachio Wave submerged and emerged from beneath Burner Man while executing his "Aqua Fang" attack to close his jaws on Burner Man: he inflicted heavy damage due to the elemental weakness and stopped Burner Man's would-be attack.

"Why, you…!" The three of them cursed.

"Giga Card: Wing Blade!"

"Illegal Battle Card: Zestsumetsu Meteor!"

"No way!"

Acid Ace shot forward, rammed into Burner Man, deleting him, and the heat from his thrusters hit both Flash Man and Desert Man: they had barely had any time to recover when a rain of fiery meteors rained down on them thus inflicting even heavier damage.

"You lowlifes…!" They hissed.

"Fight!" Demon King ordered.

"Yes, Master!" They quickly confirmed.

"The final blow! Sword Fighter X!"

"Sword Fighter X!"

"Mwah, hah, hah! You're fired, ugly grunts!"

Both Rock Man and Blood Shadow locked into one opponent each to then deliver six consecutive sword attacks at them: they roared as their bodies were split into six pieces before being deleted: a purple spheroid of energy floated out of them and shot towards the tower's top: the four pieces of the key appeared on the ground, too, so they picked them up and assembled them into one.

"Heh. Not bad! Go on ahead."

"Later…"

"Let's go, Subaru – kun."

"O. K."

They headed at the start of the tower's ramp which had a stone cube blocking access and requiring the key to be inserted on it: the cube (a Real Wave) dematerialized and the two of them began to climb up the tower as purple fog began to form on the base of the tower and growing in thickness as it seemingly pursued both of them at a slow rate while seemingly cutting their retreat off.

"I feel some kind of pressure…! This "Boss" must be ridiculously powerful, then…!" Rock Man gasped.

"Yeah… I feel the same… And that fog is there to cut our escape… We've got no choice but to face the thing!" Blood Shadow replied.

Both finally managed to reach the very top: purple-colored energy walls formed around them and seemed to over three meters tall thus trapping them inside of a ten meter wide and large square which contained a brownish spheroid with many holes allowing one to sight a bluish mass inside of it: a large spinning "vortex" tainted purple was forming on the furthest end of the platform and expanding.

"Looks _bad_." Rock Man gulped.

"Yeah… I feel an overwhelming pressure…!"

A gigantic monster-like creature suddenly emerged from within the vortex and emitted an inhuman roar.

"W-what in the…?" Blood Shadow gasped.

"H-huge~!" Rock Man uttered.

"Crap! This is no grunt!" War Rock gasped.

"B-but… Just… WHAT is that thing?" Rock Man wondered.

"D-dunno!"

"GUA~H!"

The monster's head had an irregular shape as it was made up of reddish mass with white patterns drawn over it: two red eyes missing any iris shone on the face while the mouth area was colored blue: giant teeth filled the open mouth which uttered inhuman roars: a thin large diamond object was set on the forehead, too.

Its main body shape's looked strikingly similar to the Alphabet letter "T" with the base having three pale blue diamond-like formations aiming NE and NW on each side of it: four large metallic chains came out from inside of the vortex and attached to the purplish mass, the upper body.

Six needles colored blue and with a small blackish stripe near the base of them emerged from behind the shoulders: they had an eerie vibe to them and looked sharp.

The monster's hands looked more like claws than real hands: they were colored in a reddish tint all the way to the start of the forearms: two cuffs seemingly made of metal with an inner blue band and lacking chains were visible on the monster's wrists.

The spheroid object suddenly shattered to reveal a hovering pale blue "flame" objects which hovered close to the vortex.

The Real Wave screen popped out:

"Demon God: Nebula Grey"

"Demon God…!"

"Nebula Grey…!"

"Guo~h!"

A purple-colored Desert Man suddenly showed up in front of them as the purple fog surrounded the air around them and made visibility outside of the square difficult.

"I have transcended Time Space … That foolish one believes he rules over me but I rule over "evil" itself… The curse I started generations ago has survived until this day…" "Purple" Desert Man intoned.

"Wait…! That's not Desert Man speaking! That Nebula Grey thing is speaking through him!" Blood Shadow realized.

"And thus, a new "Rock Man" exists in this era… Hear me out, container of "Light"! You may destroy this physical form. But my "hatred" and "grudge" shall not be destroyed and continue to flow across the Time Space … I am the beginning and the end. My incarnations across the Time Space decide when "evil" shall awaken and when it shall sleep…"

"N-new "Rock Man"…? There was another Rock Man…?" Rock Man gasped and sounded surprised.

"Shadow! You make honor to your very name: concealing information even to allies… But I do not care: you have come here to try to defeat me with that tool capable of eliminating my "soul pieces" inside of the Darkloids… Yet… That shall not be the end. Even if you can destroy the man who foolishly names himself "Demon King"… That shall not be the end. A new incarnation will be born… And the cycle will repeat eternally until the end of all times!" "Purple" Desert Man exclaimed next.

A dry crackle-like sound rang out before "Purple" Desert Man vanished and the fog seemed to recoil a bit: they'd barely had the time to recover when a rain of purple flames hit the floor around them.

"Grah! Impact Cannon!"

"Drill Arm X!"

Both of them tried to hit Nebula Grey but their attacks didn't seem to connect or take any effect.

"Crap!"

A purple-colored Flash Man suddenly showed up in the field and shot two "Neon Lights" at them thus hitting them and paralyzing them: Flash Man was replaced by Plant Man who made his vines dig under the ground and then coil around both fighters while the thorns tried to pierce their armors.

"G… Grah! Let's end this…! Light of Mu…!"

"R-roger…! Light of Mu…!"

"Take this!"

The columns of light centered around Nebula Grey and it laughed as large patches of its body began to be destroyed: the flame emitted a shockwave which broke the walls surrounding the arena and made a medallion with the word _majin_ (Demon God) drop into the ground: the fog began to dissipate and clear up, too.

"… Blood… Is that what thing said true?" Rock Man asked him.

"… Can we talk it on the HQ? It's not like we wanted to lie to you guys, but we just didn't tell you because… we thought you'd lose trust in us given some hard-to-believe claims…" Blood Shadow sighed.

"Anyway… Forget that. 5 of 10! Half of them! The day still has a lot of hours left, too…! But I guess we won't be able to hit the HQ until tomorrow morning at the very earliest, so…" Rock Man switched topics as if to relieve him.

"Not bad, not bad!"

Sarcastic clapping rang out and both looked behind them to see Umbra standing at the entrance of the ramp while having a broad grin on his face and sounding amused.

"Umbra…!" Both gasped.

"Heh! Let's beat this guy up, too!"

"Nope. It's too early."

"Che!"

"Instead… I'll treat you to something. There's a reason why you can defeat those "Darkloids" so easily."

"Guessed as much…" Blood Shadow guessed.

"Bloody Shadowy is in the mood to play Holmes IX?" Sigma joked.

"Sigma… Be quiet, will ya?"

"Sure. Harp Note looks rather annoyed at my jokes, so…"

"Weren't you supposed to team up with Akatsuki – san?"

"Boss switched it around because he didn't want Sir Omega pestering Harp Note with his humor…"

"Ahem, ahem! The reason is simple: _maou – sama_'s power grows with every deleted "Boss" and "Darkloid"…" Umbra announced

"Crap." Rock Man muttered.

"That's unfair!" War Rock protested.

"All's fair in war."

"Grrr! My blood's boiling! I wanna blow him up into bits and bytes!"

"You copied that off Wolf…"

"But I'm busy enough for the time being, so… _Sayounara_!"

Umbra jumped into a Warp Point which had opened close by and warped out while Blood Shadow looked at the ground.

"… Let's go take a break, Subaru – kun." He finally called out.

"Oi! Subaru! That guy is gonna beat you using his secret weapon!"

"Stop with the "secret weapon" joke already, Rock…"

"Yeah. It's lame and one-sided." Blood Shadow added.

_Who's the true "villain"…? "Evil" itself…? This is turning grim…_


	15. Chapter 15: Feral battle

**Chapter 15: Feral battle**

18:09 PM (Japan Time), Saturday May the 29th…

"… Whoa. A soccer stadium here, in the middle of nowhere…!"

"_Danna_ gotta be an Oosaka Tigers fan…"

"Yeah. Sure."

"Eh… And where's the trap?"

Acid Ace, Omega, Harp Note and Sigma stepped into the sandy field of an empty soccer stadium surrounded by desert and having the intense sun bathing it: they looked around in obvious surprise.

"Dunno. Maybe in the VIP seats." Omega grinned.

"Uh… Could be…" Sigma sounded unsure.

"No, no… In the players' bench!" Acid Ace joked.

"Jeez! Akatsuki – san!" Harp Note protested.

"Shidou… Your humor lacks any point to it." Acid told him.

"Oh. Shut up."

"Pororon! I feel two large Denpa Body signatures coming closer: they're off-scale… They must be the "Bosses"…!" Harp warned.

"What?" Everyone gasped.

"HYA~H!"

"GRUO~H!"

The SE wall blew up amongst a cloud of smoke and sand while two large figures which seemed to be attacking each other at close quarters rolled inside of the stadium to stop in the center: the four expedition members had jumped over the railing separating field from spectators' seats and looked on from there.

"What the heck are those?" Acid Ace wondered.

The dust disappeared around one of the figures: it was facing the SE.

The figure was a large vermillion falcon-shaped beast.

The head had two cone-shaped extensions coming out of the sides plus a gray shape protruding from the back of the head and aiming northwards: its eyes were white and didn't have irises or pupils to them.

It had large vermillion wings the lower edges of which were colored metallic gray and a tail plus gray talons with four claws each: the beast was hovering on the air a small distance above the ground.

The main body had grayish/blackish armor over it although the sides of it were colored in a golden-like color: a green jewel-like formation built to resemble a bird's silhouette with the extended wings was located on the chest are.

The Real Wave screen showed up:

"Cybeast Falzer"

The dust finally receded to reveal Falzer's opponent:

Its eyes were colored red and didn't have irises or pupils to them, either, while an object which looked like a six – point star colored orange protruded out of the forehead: fierce teeth were being displayed as they were arranged inside of its jaw.

Their shape was that of a greenish lion having white patterns drawn over its body, four strong armored legs, gray claws, a grayish lower body, and seven orange-like spikes forming a crown-like formation.

Lastly, a tail with a triangle and spikes set on its end emerged from the rear of its body.

Another Real Wave screen came up:

"Cybeast Greiga"

"Cybeasts…!" Harp Note gasped.

"Heh. Looks amusing! Let's see how intense this show is." Omega grinned.

The two "Cybeasts" shrieked or howled before jumping towards each other: they collided and backed up while yelling or growling at each other without seemingly caring for the presence of the expedition members close to them.

"Look: we gotta beat those things to progress, so… We should try to find out if they have a weak point." Sigma rallied.

"I know one: a mirror." Omega grinned.

"A mirror…?" Acid Ace asked.

"Yeah! When they see their totally ugly reflection it they'll be so shocked that they'll end up K. O.!" Omega replied.

"What silliness! They'd think there's another opponent and proceed to attack them because I don't believe these things to be self-aware: they rather prefer to fight for dominance." Harp Note scolded.

"Oho. Ms. Encyclopedia attacks from SSE flank!"

"Eh… Sir Omega…!" Sigma nervously called out in a whisper.

"Omega!" Lartes scolded.

"Oho. Dr. Who came."

"Stop making up silly names: fight!"

"Sure, _Danna_. Blink twice and you lose."

Omega drew his saber and jumped across the air at a mad speed until he landed on Falzer's back: he began to hit that area with several saber slashes before Falzer suddenly shot skywards and then dived towards Greiga: it roared and exhaled a torrent of scorching flames at the opponent: Falzer countered by shooting a spiral of supersonic sounds which increased in size and thickness as it neared the outer edge of its total length: the two of them clashed again and the vermillion bird didn't seem to notice or care about Omega's presence as he continued his attacks: Acid Ace joined him.

"Take this! Long Sword, Long Sword!"

This time, thought, Falzer beat his wings in a violent manner thus managing to toss them into the ground: they landed there in a totally unceremonious manner before standing up.

"Bwah, hah, hah, ha~h! Take this! Demon Flames!"

"Drill Arm X! Hammer Weapon X!"

Sigma had jumped atop the body of Greiga and was projecting two reddish lasers from his eyes which barely scratched the armor at all but did leave a trail of flames: Harp Note was focusing its attacks on the star object set on the forehead: Greiga roared and violently rolled across the ground to shake them off and collide with Falzer: the vermillion bird screeched and began to shoot copies of its talons down the air at a mad speed to inflicting harm into Greiga: the greenish lion formed electricity around its "crown" and a streak of it hit the vermillion bird: Falzer countered by summoning a mob of several small red-colored bird-like Viruses which bombarded Greiga: both then stopped and seemed to be trying to gather energies to keep on.

"I dunno how much time they've been quarreling, but… Something tells me that "Demon King" intended for this to happen. The grunts will surely come to finish us when we beat these two." Acid Ace muttered.

"Heh. Let them come. I'll send them back to their HQ without the need of DHL." Omega grinned.

"Maybe if we wait they're gonna kill each other, too." Sigma suggested with a smile.

"Fine." Harp Note shrugged.

"KYA~H!"

"GURO~H!"

Falzer and Greiga charged at each other in violent clash and their bodies suddenly became devoid of all coloring: they slowly broke down into raw data before disappearing: two medallions hit the floor while the only remaining thing of the "Cybeasts" was their core programs.

"Whoa." Everyone whistled in surprise.

The core programs flew out while Harp Note and Acid Ace picked the medallions: they were adorned with each Cybeat's emblem.

"Heh, heh, heh. Yo! A companion of you guys is gonna drop down right here and now!" Liquid announced.

"… Enjoy." Solid drily added.

"Hra~h!"

Something suddenly dropped down and crashed against the ground with violence: the whole stadium swayed under the sudden violent shock while the skies clouded and thunderbolts suddenly rained down: a purple sphere of energy had showed up in the middle of the field and was emitting a powerful energy field which didn't allow for any of the four to come close to it.

"W-what?" Harp Note gasped.

"That's gotta be…!" Acid Ace gasped.

The sphere began to fade and it revealed Burai's form: his eyes were shining with hatred on them and the jewel on his forehead was pulsating with increasing brightness: he had the Laplace Blade drawn which also was shining with a reddish blood-like tint: his mere presence radiated power and doom.

The information Real Wave screen showed up in front of him:

"Demon Army Elite Warrior: Burai."

"They've infused him with some kind of program… It seems to lock out his consciousness and make him behave like a somnambular person: he is not conscious of what he does." Acid reported.

"We gotta try to capture him and restore him to normal while getting his medallion, too… We've got 7 out of 10 and we're only missing his, Umbra's and Forte's." Omega calmly instructed.

"Roger!"

"Demon Rings!"

"Plasma Shot!"

"Wide Wave X!"

"Shock Strings!"

The two initials attacks removed the Mu Rejection while Acid Ace's and Harp Note's attacks did connect: Burai didn't seem to feel the pain given how he quickly cut the Shock Strings and warped in front of Acid Ace to begin his four-hit-combo: Acid Ace groaned and stepped back while Harp Note drew a Hammer Weapon X and hit the floor with hit thus dizzying Burai for a moment: Sigma swung his sword to damage him: Omega jumped in front of him and delivered six consecutive attacks with his sword by swinging left, right, up and down in pattern: Burai merely swung his Laplace Blade as counter but Omega could block it up: they began to struggle in a deadlock.

"This guy doesn't feel pain or what?" Acid Ace exasperatedly asked to no – one in particular.

"I told you, Shidou. His senses have been "disconnected" so as to speak: the program has managed to gain control of his CNS to remove all sensations while something else is using Denpa to stimulate brain activity into him." Acid calmly replied.

"I knew that, Mr. Speaker!" Acid Ace sarcastically replied.

"I am not a speaker! How many more times do we need to go over this before you stop being so sarcastic?" Acid exasperatedly asked.

"A million times, maybe!"

"I give up."

"Ironic! To think that we all used to go by the "don't give up" motto back when the Meteor G Crisis…" Harp Note muttered.

"Heh, heh, heh. I believe _iinchou_ is gonna beat ya to sneaking into Area A during the _cliché moment_…" Omega joked.

"Omega. You wouldn't even impress a lame joker."

"Are ya sure of it, Dr. Who?"

"I'm not that "Dr. Who" whoever it is!"

"Huh… Sir Omega! We need a hand over here, sir!" Sigma nervously called out.

He was trying to hold Burai at back by using his sword to block him from advancing while Omega had been distractedly trolling as he held Burai at bay with his weapon: Omega quickly jumped over him and used the handle to hit the rear part of Burai's head: he didn't seem to notice anything and continued to try to break through Sigma's defenses: Omega sighed and then hit Burai's head with the gun: there was no effect, either, and Omega got a twitch over the right eye: Sigma caught sight of it and gulped in nervousness.

"Okay. I'm gonna go by the not-so-nice approach."

He gripped Burai's shoulders, whipped him around and hit his helmet's forehead with Burai's to produce a CLONG sound which echoed inside of Burai's helmet: the jewel got a slight crack on it and Burai suddenly seemed to snap outta it.

"Huh! W-what the! W-what am I doing here? Wait! You lowlife are Omega! What's going on?" He questioned.

"A guy named Demon King…" Omega began.

"…was trying to control me as if I was a mere puppet…! Where's that man at?" Burai recalled.

"Do you carry any kind of medallion?"

"Medallion…? No… Why?"

"It's one of the keys to opening that man's hideout: we've got 7, you're supposed to have another 1 and two guys named Umbra and Forte hold the remaining 2. If we don't gather those, we can't enter that guy's hideout." Omega replied.

"A laboratory…! The Demon God…! I remember…! I broke out twice but those lowlifes managed to capture me again…! Ugh…! Shatter this bothersome control device!" Burai hissed.

"Not so fast." Liquid's voice rang out.

"… Hmpf. _Naïve_!" Solid scoffed.

The jewel suddenly glowed and produced a purple-colored bubble of energy while the purple static electricity travelled across Burai's body: he gripped his head and roared before he suddenly shot skywards and vanished into the clouded skies.

"Those two are gone." Harp reported.

"This strange storm didn't allow us to try to ID them as they stood somewhere else…" Harp Note sighed.

"They must want to save up Burai for further ahead… So we'll have to fight Forte or Umbra in the meanwhile plus other "Darkloids" which must be roaming out there…" Omega summarized.

"Yeah… And I can't shake the feeling that they wanna stall for time: they must be brewing something up." Sigma muttered.

"The elixir of eternal life: that's what."

"Not that again…" Lartes grumbled.

"Clark Kent – sama~! I brought the elixir of eternal life~!" Omega announced in a hollow and scary voice.

"Sure, sure." Everyone drily muttered.

"O. K.! Time for a shaken up party: I'm gonna invite Bertie~ to some _intriguing magazines_…" Omega teased.

"You won't. End of story." Lartes icily replied.

"Let's go~!"

Omega dashed out of the stadium through the gaping hole while the other three sighed in defeat…

18:29 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Close, too close…! Even though the damaged section was just 4% of the device, Burai could snap outta control… The program needs a very strict and total integrity to properly work… Were it to be altered even by a 1% percentage, it'd stop functioning… Lovely!"

"Yeah… I guess we should really let him loose, allow the guys to release him, and stall with some "Darkloids" before they try to face us: Burai may try to come inside but the whole HQ is surrounded by an energy shield system… Any Denpa Body which enters into contact into it will be instantly annihilated…"

Umbra and Forte were talking while standing inside of the observation room: both sounded somewhat pessimistic and defeated.

"What did Master say?" Umbra asked.

"He didn't seem to mind."

"Is the "secret weapon" ready?"

"Yeah. We can activate it anytime." Forte shrugged.

"Phew. At least we've solved that spot… We should leave an energy shield system on the corridor in case Burai came out of his capsule again and went on a rampage across the HQ…" Umbra told him.

"Leave that up to me… By the way… Should we select the next quartet of Darkloids which will come out?" Forte suggested.

"Yeah. Let's try to pick some of them which are itching for action and let them out: they'll feel satisfied." Umbra grinned.

"Yo! Planning up?" Liquid asked as he stood in a spot of the threshold which wasn't illuminated.

"Where's Solid?" Forte frowned.

"Dunno. I look away one second and next one he's vanished. But he isn't here, so… I dunno where he went… Hmmm… He could've gone check on the "secret weapon", too…"

"Oh. Could be, true! Then let's let him: he's competent and smart enough to handle that." Umbra looked amused.

"By the way… Did you figure out what did that Omega guy mean with "secret weapon" which was on the "reverse"…? I didn't get any of it nor why his Boss yelled at him." Forte asked.

"Oh. _That_… Listen…"

Umbra whispered something: Forte looked surprised while Liquid laughed at it.

"No way… He actually meant that?" Liquid asked.

"Yeah… Master told me while looking amused at it, so…"

"That guy needs psychoanalysis." Forte looked nervous.

"Sure does…" Liquid laughed again.

"Really… Does he think I'm that _vulgar_ of a person? I have some morality, ya know!" Umbra protested.

"Hmpf. That crimson one tries to lure you guys into believing he's unable to do anything but he'll then sweep through us…" Solid announced without stepping into the room.

"Yo! _Aibou_. Did ya check on the "secret weapon", then?"

"Yeah. All systems green… Activation can be done anytime: we could calculate the orbit of that spaceship so that we execute it when it's gone into the "far side" of the planet…" Solid shrugged.

"Heh, heh, heh. It's coming closer…" Forte chuckled.

"Yeah… Those guys will soon realize their own powerlessness and wander around in despair…" Umbra giggled.

"All for the sake of _maou – sama_!" The four of them exclaimed.

Forte, Umbra and Liquid laughed in an evil tone while Solid merely let out hollow laughter: he didn't seem to find it amusing or entertaining: something about him was different…


	16. Chapter 16: Atrrition warfare

**Chapter 16: Attrition warfare**

19:02 PM (Japan Time), Saturday May the 29th…

"… This looks like a recreation of the Grand Canyon in Arizona… The river flowing through it, the rock's coloring and shapes… Our Demon King villain is fond of varied environments."

"Sure is… Yet… It reeks of a trap."

"Heh! If more grunts come out then I'll beat them to a pulp!"

"Hoa~h! Destroy~!"

"_Check it out_! I'm so gonna beat 'em up!"

"Tee, heh, heh. Let's bombard them!"

"Hah! They have no sense of _sportsmanship_."

Four new "Darkloids" suddenly dropped down in two rows of two each one in front of Blood Shadow's and Rock Man's path along a ledge spanning across the left flank of this canyon: a fiery river the waters of which were tinted purple streamed down the center section while emitting a purple fog around it which climbed up until half a meter from the ledge they were both standing it: the skies were clouded and looked like it was about to rain.

"Hoa~h! Air Man is gonna destroy you~!"

Air Man didn't strike to be much taller than either Blood Shadow or Rock Man.

His head was a mere dome and lacked both nose and mouth: two red eyes without irises and yellow background.

His emblem, a greenish tornado, was set on his forehead.

His main body was an irregular spheroid having a fan built on the center of it plus four curved metallic pieces spanning across the body until they reached the outer edge of the fan.

Two short arms lacking elbows and colored green emerged from the sides.

His forearms were colored blue and gray with two blades set on the upper edges: his hands were colored orange.

His legs and waist were colored navy blue: two cylinders with metallic round bands on the upper and lower edges covered his legs below the knees: the lower half of the feet were colored orange.

"Heh, heh, heh. Star Man is gonna make meteors rain down on you guys 'till you're mere dust!"

Star Man appealed as being slightly shorter in height than Rock Man and Blood Shadow and had a more "humanoid" design to him.

His face was white in color: he had no nose and his eyes were navy blue with small round white spots on them.

H had two round navy blue/blackish ear-pads with a small reddish cone coming out of them and aiming SE.

His hairstyle was punk in style (or at least gave off that impression): it consisted on five golden spikes aiming northwards

His emblem, a white star set against a blue background with red and blue edges, could be spotted on the forehead.

His upper body was colored navy blue and the rest of it was pure white.

His arms were blue in color until the elbow and then turned white: he sported two tall boots with a brown upper edge just below the knee while their main color was a dull orange one.

Three golden bands were wrapped around his neck and a scar-like extension came out from behind it to end in a star shape.

"Hum! Bowl Man – sama will sweep the ground with them on it for cheating at bowling!"

Bowl Man was taller than the other two Darkloids.

His face was white in color: his eyes were plainly red in color and lacked iris to them: his nose was also red in color and he had a mouth which he could articulate to speak.

His upper body color was white yet his neck's base was red in color: the edges around his head shared the same coloring.

Four fang-like formations were set on the lower edge of his jaw and aiming upwards towards his face.

His ear-pads' edge was tinted red and contained his emblem inside: three round green dots forming a triangle's outline set against a black background.

The other striking fact about his head was a yellowish edge circling the forehead with a bowling ball colored green set atop it.

His arms were made of three bowling balls colored green: his hands were colored black and had a small piece of greenish armor covering the upper part of them.

His legs' color palette was red: they had a cross-shaped piece of armor over the knees and ended right on the ankle: white shoes with a small yellow round band were placed there, too. Two gray metallic pieces of armor covered the flanks and ended slightly above the knees.

Lastly, Bowl Man carried a pin having a black base, a red stripe over it and white body attached to his back.

"_Check it out_! The great me is gonna fry them with 100,000 DC Volts in one attack! Bright Man – sama has spoken! Nyah, hah, hah, hah, ha~h!"

The last component of this quartet stood as being more or less the same height as Star Man.

His head was protected by a helmet which covered the face all the way until the mouth: two round dome-shaped greenish bulbs seemed to be his eyes' equivalent system.

The helmet's band covering the part where his nose and eyes would be at was tinted black yet the upper section of it had been colored using orange coloring: two grayish metallic cone-formation objects protruded from the sides of the helmet and ended in a bluish spheroid.

Two glowing green wires came out from two spots behind the head.

They ended in two electrical plugs colored metallic gray and blue.

His neck was covered in the orange vest which ended a short distance from the waist.

His emblem, an orange sphere with six straight lines coming out of its lower edge and set against a sky blue background, was set inside of a navy blue edge with an arrow aiming downwards.

His upper body had an orange vest built there and the rest of the upper body was colored yellow.

Two round fluorescent bands were set around his shoulders from where his yellow-skinned arms came out: the forearm armor had an upper orange section and a lower navy blue section.

A sky blue band circled the diameter of it close to where the armor began: a piece of armor shaped like a diamond was located over the palm.

The front part of it had another green fluorescent piece on it while the rear part was plain armor: his hands were covered by white "skin".

His lower body and legs were also orange in coloring and were covered in armor from the knees downwards.

The armor was also orange, had two blue round stripes, and ended shoes shaped like circles which included a greenish fluorescent band and metallic soils.

"What… Is this an attrition warfare tactic?" Blood Shadow asked.

"Attri – what?" War Rock asked.

"Attrition warfare! They mean to come out in increasing numbers, more often, give us little no to no breaks, wear us down and beat us up! That's why there's so much distance between two sets of Warp Points, the ambushes and the Boss Battles…" Blood Shadow replied.

"I see… That's how Demon King shaped it all…!" Rock Man realized.

"Hah! You lowlifes can't hope to grasp the true intelligence of _maou – sama_!" Bowl Man boasted.

"Yeah! His Grace is a genius!" Star Man grinned.

"_Check it out_! He could beat ya without even blinking twice!"

"Hoa~h! Long live to _maou – sama_!" Air Man exclaimed.

"Enough talk! Showdown!" War Rock taunted.

"Bowling Bomber!"

"Meteor!"

"Tornado!"

"Bright Beam!"

Bowl Man materialized a gigantic bowling ball which headed for the duo, Star Man made small incandescent meteors rain down towards both combatants, Air Man was engulfed by a tornado and Bright Man projected streaks of green energy from his "eyes" towards the duo.

"Zetsumetsu Meteor!"

"Subaru – kun! Do you have the "Float Shoes" Ability installed?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Then I can use _this strategy_. All Poison!"

The whole terrain became "Poison Panels": Rock Man made some meteors rain down and hit the four "Darkloids" who lost HP because they were standing in the "Poison Panels": Rock Man shot a Charge Shot at the Bowling Bomber to intercept it: he dodged the meteors, blocked the Bright Beam (part of which was bounced off back to Bright Man, too) as Blood Shadow shot an Impact Cannon at Air Man to stun him.

"O. K.! Poison Storm!"

Blood Shadow used the fan-like weapon which dried all "Poison Panels" and hit the whole group of four "Darkloids" inflicting heavy damage thanks to the insane amount of "Poison Panels".

"Clever bothersome guys!" Bowl Man cursed.

"These guys…!" Star Man hissed.

"Hoa~h! Destroy~!" Air Man exclaimed.

"_Check it out_! I'm getting annoyed!" Bright Man uttered.

"Gatling Pin!"

"Grah! Bright Beam!"

"Triple Tornado!"

"Shooting Star Shower!"

Bowl Man grabbed his pin and aimed the base at them to shoot a string of smaller pins towards them: Bright Man repeated his earlier attack, Air Man's tornado grew thicker and Star Man opened a "void" from which he summoned several fast streams of shooting stars.

"Apollon Flame!"

"Sirius!"

"NO WAY!" The four of them exclaimed in horror.

Apollon Flame summoned a plasma spheroid resembling the Sun (his "Sun Flare" technique) and tossed it on the ground where the four of them were standing at: Sirius then used his weapon (the "Satellite Blazer") to cut across the rock and dislodge a segment of the pathway: the four "Darkloids" roared as they fell into the river.

"I know they can't drown, but I guess they'll end up deleted when they crash against something… Let's keep on: there's a lake another 11 kilometers ahead and I'm sure something is waiting for us there."

"Roger Mr. Roger!" War Rock laughed.

"Yeah, yeah. Very funny." Rock Man drily told him.

"Not bad." Omega commented over the radio.

"The technique to…?" Blood Shadow began asking.

"No, no! I mean the joke. Keep it up, Rock! Heh, heh, heh!"

19:34 PM (Japan Time)…

"… The lake…! There's a small ruined hut in the middle, built upon that island… Let's check it out."

"O. K."

"Hut Man gotta live there!"

Blood Shadow and Rock Man oversaw a small hut built upon an island place on the middle of a lake filled with the same purple waters which were fed through a large waterfall: a Wave Road led all the way there as if to make things easier.

"Let's go, Subaru – kun!"

"O. K.!"

The two of them ran down the Wave Road and landed in front of the ruined hut: it was built using simple stone and straw ceiling which had some holes on it thus illuminating the unfurnished interiors of the hut: a stairway had been cut on the floor and seemingly led to a basement room built below it.

"A trap…" Rock Man calmly muttered.

"Obviously…" Blood Shadow grinned.

They climbed down the stairs into a vast round room the walls of which were unfurnished yet they had torches set on the walls to illuminate the interiors: a figure leaning on the far wall and being partly concealed by the poor lighting could be spotted.

"Welcome… I've been waiting for you… I'll bring you down with just one hit!" The figure announced with a hint of amusement.

"You're not Burai and not Umbra, so… You've gotta be Forte. Am I wrong?" Rock Man calmly replied.

"Yeah… And, like I said… Hi and bye!"

"Coming!" Blood Shadow warned.

Forte opened his cloak to reveal a white wound cut upon his black chest emblem and extended both hands forward while grinning.

"Darkness Overload!"

Forte shot a blast of purple-colored energy towards Rock Man: he brought up the shield and tried to block it but it pierced through it and hit Rock Man thus propelling him across the room and crashing against a wall with a groan: Blood Shadow drew a Sword Fighter X and jumped towards Forte who drew a weapon on his right hand.

"Hell's Buster!"

He began to shoot out several rounds which bounced off Blood Shadow's armor and didn't inflict much damage to him: Blood Shadow hit Forte 6 times in a row thus inflicting damage to him while Rock Man suddenly joined the fray by shooting 3 Dancing Blade X in a row: Forte drew two curved indented purple blades and jumped into the air.

"Dark Arm Blade!"

Blood Shadow, however, aimed his shotgun at him and Forte gasped in nervousness.

"Charged shotgun shot!"

"GUAH!"

The attack knocked Forte into the ground while Rock Man suddenly Finalized into Black Ace.

"Get ready! Black End… Galaxy!"

Rock Man formed the spheroid which he threw behind Forte and expanded into the sucking vortex: he drew a sword and shot past Forte while slicing the air on his wake: the vortex collapsed and the explosion swept through the basement room: Blood Shadow had drawn a Super Barrier so he was largely unaffected while Forte ended up face-up on the ground with several wounds on his body: he tried to stand up but collapsed on the attempt while groaning and uttering something under his breath.

"C-crap…! Gotta scram…! Have at ya!"

He suddenly ran up the stairs and tossed a medallion with his chest's drawing set on it down the stairs: Rock Man reverted out of Black Ace form and picked it up.

"8 out of 10…! We're getting closer…" He muttered.

"It'd seem Forte wasn't expecting such an intense battle… Maybe we will be lucky and we'll be able to solve this whole affair by tomorrow."

"Hah! I wanna tell that Demon King guy to go search for treasure under the Pacific Ocean!" War Rock laughed.

"I'd rather pick the Atlantic: we don't wanna him stumble upon Mu and stir up Burai's anger further than it is…" Rock Man warned.

"By the way, Bertie! I mailed an idea to _iinchou_…"

"Yeah? I'm rather skeptical about that, you see."

"Heh, heh, heh. Wait and see."

"_Iinchou_ will be left horrified, I rather think." Blood Shadow grimly muttered aloud.

"Don't be so skeptical! War Rock – sama over there has very good ideas, I'll let you know!" Omega rallied through the radio.

"If you, sir, and War Rock work together, the only possible result is "disaster", Sir Omega…" Blood Shadow told him.

"Omega…!" Lartes hissed.

"Ops. Dr. Who found me out again."

"The email filters blocked the exit of that email… And it was a totally lame and one-sided thing." Lartes coolly told him.

"Ops. Forgot about those…"

"What a pity!" War Rock sighed.

"Phew."

"So? What was it about, Dr. Lartes?"

"He was telling _iinchou_ to sneak into the Kazimura Mansion's changing room adjacent to the gym… You can imagine the rest."

"RO~CK!" Rock Man yelled in a clear annoyance.

"Ops. I should've hit the switch and not the button: the bomb went off too fast!" War Rock grinned.

"There'll be consequences!"

"Such as?"

"I'll lock you inside of the Hunter – VG for a week!"

"Fine, fine."

"I favor that." Lartes told Rock Man.

"Thank you, sir! I'll need your help trying to keep this… lame joker… at bay, sir!"

"More like "genius", I'd say!"

"I don't see a "genius" anywhere and they're supposed to stay inside of their magical lamps, anyway, unless summoned." Blood Shadow formed a smug smile.

"Che! Clever bothersome guy!"

"Come back." Lartes told him.

"Using the backdoor!" Omega added.

"Shut down."

"Shut middle."

Lartes growled something undecipherable over the radio, Blood Shadow fumed, War Rock laughed, Omega made a giggle – like sound and Rock Man rolled his eyes

_This is turning crazier with every passing hour…!_


	17. Chapter 17: Freeing Burai

**Chapter 17: Freeing Burai**

19:31 PM (Japan Time), Saturday May the 29th…

"… Grah! What a beating up! I feel so ashamed…!"

"Welcome to the club."

"I get the sarcasm, Solid!"

"Oi, oi… Cool it down, will ya?"

"You guys! Stop the chatter! Burai's broken out AGAIN!"

"Uh-oh."

Forte was rumbling aloud inside of the observation room while speaking with Solid and Liquid before Umbra ran in: he looked hysterical, for once, and the other three suddenly looked nervous.

"Guwa~h! Hra~h! Ha~h!"

The door of the room suddenly blew up as Burai ran in while holding the Laplace Blade and looking enraged: Umbra and Forte drew their weapons (the Hell's Buster and a buster-like weapon) while Solid and Liquid drew what looked like Elec Slash Battle Cards.

"Burai! Not even you can tackle 4 opponents at the same time. Give it up!" Umbra told him.

"Shaddup… Shaddup! Where's that man! I will destroy that man! Then you lowlifes will come next!" Burai roared.

"Hmpf. Foolish watchdog! You lowlife's power is so ridiculous that you won't be able to even scratch me." Demon King exclaimed as his hidden figure stepped into the room.

"DIE~!"

Burai jumped across the air at the man but he merely extended his right hand forward while building up energy on it: he shot out a purple-colored ring which attached to Burai's chest and made him stop mid-air and begin to turn into stone.

"Gu… Gua~h!"

He was turned into stone and he fell into the ground: Demon King grumbled while the other four kneeled.

"I've run out of patience. Let out another quartet and we'll unleash this idiot as well. Let those fools restore him to normal and give him the medallion: I care not anymore." He commanded.

"Roger, sir."

"I'm off. Master Plan is gonna be launched in 30 minutes when that repulsive spaceship enters the 44 minute - long period where it's circling the reverse side of the planet… They'll be powerless to stop it and by the time they realize, they'll only find a wreck when they return to their filthy Earth… Heh, heh, heh…" Demon King sounded amused.

"Roger, sir!"

He stepped out of the room while the other four loomed over the petrified Burai.

"Yeah. Good idea, really! I'm tired of having to be babysitter to this bothersome guy." Umbra commented.

"Me too… Let's let him loose." Forte sighed.

"Hmpf. What a bothersome fool…" Solid muttered.

"Ya really are getting dry, Solid!"

"I'm serious, Liquid, and I have no need for jokes."

"Sure, sure…"

"Then I'll be the only one with a medallion left… But since those guys won't be coming until tomorrow morning at the very earliest, then we've got nothing to worry about." Umbra shrugged.

"Yeah! Things will feel less tense. Those guys will be coming here in vain since they'll meet their ends in the "Battle Stages"…" Forte grinned.

Liquid, Forte and Umbra laughed while Solid remained silent…

19:45 PM (Japan Time)…

"… After a soccer stadium we end up meeting a Roman coliseum where a totally sweet and bitter ambush is waiting for us…"

"How can something be both sweet and bitter at the same time, anyway, Omega?"

"Oho. Ms. Skeptical strikes back through the backdoor and using a buzz-saw to cut through the walls!"

"Hmpf!"

"Oi, Omega… Don't anger Harp Note, will ya?"

"Maybe yes and maybe not."

"Uh-oh… Trouble…"

Omega, Harp Note, Acid Ace and Sigma stepped into a largely decayed and destroyed Roman Coliseum surrounded by desert: Omega kept on with his lames jokes, annoying Harp Note, Acid Ace sighed in defeat and Sigma looked nervous.

"Hah! What bothersome foolish beings. Let them be erased from this Land!"

"Hah! I'll run them over at 100 km/h!"

"Mwa, hah, hah, hah, ha~h! Festival, festival! I'm so gonna kill everyone today~!"

"Hmpf. I'll slice them up before they can blink twice."

Four "Darkloids" dropped down into the central arena and landed in the NW, NE, SW and SE corners so each expedition members switched their positions to face one of them.

"Tengu Man has descended!"

Tengu Man was surely over a meter and seventy tall.

His head was shaped like a mythological _tengu_'s one.

He had a large nose and a metallic jaw which didn't seem able to move: his eyes' irises was plain black with a white dot:

An emerald was set on the forehead while his emblem (a _ginko_ leaf set against a black background) was drawn over his ear-pads: thick bluish hair came out from behind him and reached as far as the waist.

His main body's color was pale brown and he had four round metallic spots on his chest: the base of his neck was colored red.

His shoulders were covered with brownish armor shaped like halves of a cylinder: his arms' skin was the typical black color and his forearms had partial armor over it.

His left hands' fingers were colored red while his right hand had three large _ginko_ leaves set on it: his emblem was repeated in the point where the hand and the _ginko_ leaves extension began.

His legs were covered in armor starting slightly below the hips and stopped slightly below the knee: both sides of each leg had a pattern of three grayish diamonds set on vertical stripe.

His feet were shaped like traditional wooden pieces colored red and having a green stripe.

Lastly, two short wing-like extensions appeared from behind his shoulders and seemed to allow him to fly.

"Charge Man – sama is gonna blow them up!"

Charge Man was shorter in height but there was a good reason for that: he was built like a steam locomotive colored crimson.

The front part of it had his green eyes with black irises set on them plus a nose-like shape: he had no mouth, tough.

Two cylindrical shoulders with a grey cover at their end sprouted from the sides and had pincer objects instead of hands at the end of his forearms.

A round yellow emblem which was four quarters of circle plus a round spot was set above his armored forehead.

Overall, he didn't look too "deadly" or "strong" given his short height and length.

"Nyah, hah, hah, ha~h! Bloody slaughter! Festival! Killer Man – sama is gonna have fun today~!"

Killer Man was surely as tall as Tengu Man: he was shaped like an _oni_ from Japanese folklore given how his "skin" was just combusting grayish flames.

He had normal eyes with black shapes drawn below them and teeth but a maniac smile was drawn upon his face: part of his "hair" scaled down to form a nose and two small red "horns" emerged from the top of his head.

His face's skin was red in color while the edges of his face were colored purple: his emblem was that same green eye set against a white background.

His main body was shaped like a sphere colored purple, and having a green eye with red edges drawn on the chest: the lower half of it was colored gray.

His shoulders had two curved axe-like formations attached to them and he carried three purple armlets over his forearms and wrists interconnected by a metallic slabs chain.

His legs had four circle-shaped pieces of armor starting at the hips and stopping around knee which progressively decreased in height on each leg: his feet were curved-shaped blades with two reddish curved lines drawn on their surface: the upper one was shorter in height than the lower one.

He carried a scythe with a black stick and red body with a purple-edged green eye set on it.

To sum it up: he looked like the Grim Reaper himself and gave off a sinister vibe.

"Hah! Slash Man – sama is faster than any of you guys!"

Slash Man was also a "humanoid" design "Darkloid" whose height struck as being the same one as both Tengu Man and Killer Man.

His face's skin looked "human" enough yet his eyes lacked irises and were colored black: green armor protected the head and two claw-like shapes were set on both sides of it: he had a small red triangle drawn upon his chin, too.

His upper body's color palette was lush green plus a vertical red stripe crossing through it.

His emblem's design was elaborated (a white character looking like the Alphabet letter "L" turned 90º to the right and extending almost the whole length of it, a tear-shaped object close to the center and another drawing which looked like a small "V" character) and its background was mere black.

His shoulders also had claw-like shapes set over them and armor covered the whole of his arms: the wrists were colored red and three sharp claws replaced his hands: they looked ready to cut through anything.

He had a small space between the upper armor and the lower body colored black.

His legs were covered in thin armor which looked rather reminiscent of pants with yellow patterns running down the sides after starting on the waist: the front edge of his feet had a slight piece of black armor while the rest of them were unprotected.

"So! You want a battle." Omega grinned.

"You are my opponent!" Tengu Man signaled him.

"This'll be cooler than Tia's breath." Acid Ace grinned.

"As far as I…" Acid began.

"It's an irony!"

"That white guy looks silly and not so strong… I'll handle it! I'll run them over at 150 km/h and blow them up!" Charge Man exclaimed.

"That black guy looks though… I'll make him bland!" Slash Man proclaimed with a grin.

"Come at full power!" Sigma challenged.

"Woman! Crave your own grave: the _shinigami_ has come to bury you lowlife today~! Nyah, hah, hah, hah, ha~h!" Killer Man announced before he exploded into hysterical laughter.

"I'm not a "woman": I'm a "girl"! Learn the difference, you _oni_ and _shinigami_ crazy mix!" Harp Note protested.

"Pororon! What were you expecting from guys whose names always end in "Man", anyway?" Harp asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"Hell's Sickle!"

"Tengu Thrust!"

"Crazy Locomotive!"

"Triple Edge!"

"Shock Note!"

"Plasma Shot!"

"Wide Wave X! Gotcha!"

"Demon Sword!"

Harp Note countered a cutting edge of energy with her Shock Note attack: Omega drew his gun and attacked Tengu Man with his plasma shot attack while Acid Ace hit Charge Man when he'd summoned some small freight cars around him: Slash Man threw three _kunai_ at Sigma: he used his gigantic sword to bounce them off.

"Counterattack!" Omega rallied.

"Roger!"

"Burn, you _oni_! Ox Fire!"

"Be squished, you _tengu_! Auriga General! He says you're too pale to rival him, you see!"

"Wing Blade!"

"Fly! Cygnus Wing!"

Ox Fire bathed Killer Man in flames: Auriga General ran over Tengu Man, Acid Ace rammed into Charge Man to have hit one of the still-standing walls and Cygnus Wing hit Slash Man when he was getting ready to strike at Sigma: they all cursed something under their breaths.

"Dark Chip!"

"Uh-oh."

"DIE~!"

"… Out of the way~!" Someone roared.

Burai suddenly crashed down and attacked Tengu Man with the Laplace Blade slicing him in half: he did the same with Killer Man and Slash Man before striking his blade down into Charge Man's forehead: he shrugged it off and his body suddenly glowed in a reddish color before speeding up all of a sudden and making Burai ram against a wall: Burai, however, warped and fell down from above thus cutting Charge Man in half: he then turned to face the group.

"The voice….! The voice…! The voice…!" He uttered.

"I guess they've let him loose but are trying to drive him crazy and destroy anything on his path." Acid analyzed.

"We gotta break down that jewel, then. Does anyone carry any of that "Light of Mu" programs?" Acid Ace asked.

"I do! Subaru – kun gave me a copy. Light of Mu!" Harp Note announced.

The white columns of light appeared around Burai and then fused into one: Burai collapsed on his knees and roared as he clutched his head: a large purplish figure with red eyes which looked like an outline of Nebula Grey formed behind Burai: an echoing and hollow chuckle rang out before the figure faded away: the jewel on Burai's forehead turned grey in coloring and shattered.

"Gu… Ugh…" He uttered.

He collapsed face-down into the ground and his Denpa – Henkan form was released: Laplace morphed back into his original form before collapsing into the ground: the four of them ran up to Solo and spotted how a medallion having the Mu Crest on it had fallen into the ground close to where he was.

"Let's leave him with some food and water… He won't like or appreciate any help from anyone, so…" Harp Note suggested.

"Yeah. But I doubt him being able to fight again in less than a few hours after some proper rest…" Acid Ace shrugged.

They didn't spot Umbra and Forte looking on from one of the higher spectators' balconies and hidden behind some debris: they looked amused at the sight.

"One eyesore less… Mine is the only medallion left for them to pick up, but… At 20:05 PM, the master plan will be executed… And they'll realize the foolishness and vanity of their actions, too…" Umbra muttered.

"Sure thing… I heavily doubt the guys on Earth being capable of doing something about it… Heh, heh, heh." Forte chuckled.

"And when they step into the HQ… Our reveal will happen. It'll be amusing!" Liquid exclaimed from somewhere off-screen.

"Hmpf." Solid didn't sound amused.

"You're starting to sound like that girl over there that is skeptical of that manly guy's jokes…" Liquid teased.

"Hmpf. Whatever. I'm being serious, Liquid."

"So? Are ya gonna try to play "secret weapon" with those guys when they come inside?"

"I won't be dragged along such a stupid and pointless thing."

"O. K., _Danna_… Oi! Let's get back: I don't wanna miss the show!"

"Alright! Let's pull out, guys, while I go say hi and bye~… This'll be fun, I can see it coming!" Umbra giggled next.

19:54 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hmpf. 11 minutes left… And that repulsive man will be unable to stop me… That's why I've proven to be over him! But… This won't be enough to prove my worth to Ice Queen – sama… A battle! Only by destroying that repulsive man in battle will Ice Queen – sama see my true potential: I shall become Her Grace's proxy to rule the world while she continues to draw benefits from the "Neo Secret Empire"…!"

The unidentified "Demon King" was standing inside of a metallic room filled with control consoles and overseeing another large room filled with tall missiles without any markings and colored black: the man sounded confident and eager.

"Vadous! You lowlife think this is mere attrition warfare but that's my smoke cover! It's simpler than that: keep you lowlifes busy enough here and limiting your reaction time and capabilities… All's worked according to the plan: two teams of "Darkloids" are left, but I don't care. They were to be expendable from the very start… Solid, Liquid, Forte and Umbra… You four also expendable, yet Umbra has a slightly higher value because he could be useful in case I had to execute my "B Plan"… That kid is too afraid of my power and will do whatever I say without doubting: being alone will force him to find his way to survive and expose him to how the world works… Hmpf. That's why I picked that guy: it's easy to shape his mind without the need of brainwashing methods or other tricks… It's a mere matter of using poison to control poison…" The man muttered as he made a monologue.

He lowered his gaze into one small display of the control panel set on the upper right-hand corner:

19:56:48

"… Eight minutes… And Earth will be over! The ensuing chaos will allow me to free Ice Queen – sama easily and before they can blink twice, Her Grace will finally rule that worthless planet Earth is! Come, Vadous! I shall annihilate you lowlife… And Earth's history will come to a closing!"

He laughed aloud in an evil tone of voice…


	18. Chapter 18: Chaos Unison

**Chapter 18: Chaos Unison**

20:03 PM (Japan Time), Saturday May the 29th…

"… I see. So we're only pending Umbra to show up and give him a quick beating up with no time to recover and hope we can pick the medallion outta him to strike their HQ tomorrow morning."

"Correct, Boss."

Vadous was sitting on a cushioned metallic armchair set inside of a largely unlit room somewhere: a large console filled with displays, switches, LEDs, an interphone, a keyboard and a mouse-pad extended in front of him: three large LCD screens were built above them and the central one displayed Omega still standing in the coliseum area: Sigma was standing a few steps behind his right shoulder.

"Good… Yet another Warp Point has opened: only one remains locked insofar and that's gotta be a hint of Umbra's location. Subaru and Blood went to check it out." Vadous calmly told him.

"Speaking of their base… Have you been able to scan it or anything to check on it?"

"I tried: but that "cloud" barrier around it jams up all my attempts: I'm now in the reverse side of the planet just like you guys so I can't do anything until the ship rounds back to the starting point."

"Obviously… Yet… Taken into account the whole setting… Do you think that man has researched very well _on that era_ or _he came_ from that era to begin with?" Omega asked.

"Both are possible _scenarios_, yet… Something about Umbra makes me think we should consider a third _scenario_… And I'm starting to suspect the true colors of "Solid" and "Liquid" by now…" Vadous admitted.

"… Ah. I see…" Omega seemed to grasp it, too.

"Warning. Warning. Warning." An automated voice rang out.

"W-what the…? What's wrong, Black Ace?"

"Space-time anomaly detected in "light" side of the planet 100 kilometers above the surface and located directly above the "HQ"… Analysis' signatures are consistent with a "gateway"…"

"A gateway…? Oi! They're gonna run away?" Vadous gasped.

"Doesn't sound like it… Wouldn't be the style of a jerk who worked for Anaya Maria…" Omega seriously replied.

"Then why the heck are they opening a gateway?"

"Warning. Several heat signatures detected emerging from "HQ" and heading towards gateway at an approximate speed of 7 km/s: they will reach the "gateway" in about 15 seconds. The target of the "gateway" is still unknown."

"ICBMs?" Vadous gasped.

"ICBM?" Harp Note asked in the background.

"Inter Continental Ballistic Missile: a tactical weapon capable of delivering a nuclear strike across a large distance!" Vadous summed up.

"Goodness!" Harp Note gasped.

"And they're headed for Earth: obviously enough!"

"What's that talk about a weapon?" Solo suddenly asked.

"Wha! Already awake?"

"Ugh… I don't feel like moving much, though."

"That Demon King guy is firing missiles at Earth." Omega summed up with a serious look.

"Why?"

"Guess he wants to turn into a nuclear wasteland."

"Hmpf. That foolish man believes he can end Earth like that…" Solo didn't sound impressed.

"And I'm sure he could fabricate the plutonium himself, too…"

"But what would Maria gain from that, anyway?" Omega asked.

"Who?" Solo asked.

"The criminal who wanted to assassinate Rock Man just to plunge the word into a depression and sell fake medicines…"

"WHAT?" Solo sounded angered.

"A crazy woman whom we tossed into a jail… If you thought Orihime was a villain, she's pale compared to her."

"That's why we had to hide him." Harp Note added.

"Attempts at analyzing composition of missiles impaired by strong "Noise" interference…"

"… "Noise" interference…? But why would there be "Noise" in a missile? It'd make it unable to work properly…" Acid Ace muttered.

"… No! He doesn't want to use nuclear warheads…! Crimson! He's loaded Crimson into those things!"

"So he's gonna go and try to make Queen Tia's and Jack's "wish" a reality, after all… The "world remake"…" Omega muttered.

"And he is gonna free Maria to then restore the "Palace"…! She can live out of Earth while he acts as her proxy to rule the half-ruined world and will be able to make plenty of "business" for a very long time… That repulsive man… He's planned it everything! And he was waiting for this same moment, too…!" Vadous cursed.

"Can't you contact Earth? Or, wait… Didn't we have a live channel on to begin with?" Acid Ace asked.

"It's interrupted every time I go behind the planet…! And I can't make a transmission until I return to the "light" side of the planet, either…!"

"Clever bothersome guy…!" Solo cursed.

"By the way… Did you get to see his face?" Omega asked.

"No. He covered like Vadous does."

"Like me… Then he's no mere admirer… He's gotta be a "Demon Tribe" member…" Vadous icily muttered.

"And that's why he picked the title "Demon King", then?" Harp Note asked him.

"Yeah… Undoubtedly. Then he's mine. It's a battle between equals… Only I can take him down." Vadous icily added.

"Fine. You lowlife deal with him: I'll take care of the rubbish he tries to throw at me: he boasted about "trials" waiting for anyone who came inside of that hideout." Solo calmly announced.

"Did you get to see the two guys named "Solid" and "Liquid"?"

"No. But I did "sniff" their signatures… They weren't UMAs or Wizards so they have to be rebuilt FMs…" Solo shrugged.

"Ra…" Laplace muttered.

"What?" Sigma asked.

"… "Yeah"…" Solo translated.

"All launched missiles have entered "gateway": total missile count is 30 missiles."

"30!" Vadous cursed aloud.

"… Boss! We've entered the new region… It's full of free-floating Crimson and Noise… But it ain't a Noise Wave, either… A "Crimson Machine" has been erected inside of a factory and it's generating it…" Blood Shadow reported.

"So that's where he generated it and why he saved it up for the very last: he's been loading and building the missiles this whole time and didn't want us to cut off his Crimson supply…!"

"We're going to check it out." Rock Man added.

"Fine. If you find Umbra, you have permission to hit his helmet with a hammer until he confesses what's inside of that bloody spheroid."

"Eh… Roger, Boss."

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah, ha~h! I'm so gonna bite that guy's secret weapon 'till he confesses!" War Rock laughed.

"You won't." Rock Man grumbled.

"What secret weapon?" Solo questioned.

"Eh! Solo! Eh… It's a lame joke by Rock: it ain't worth knowing…"

"Hmpf. True. I have no need for lame "humor"…"

"… And that's because your secret weapon is flashy, right?"

"I don't see the point."

"Rock! Shut the trap up already!"

"Che!"

"Heh, heh, heh… What bothersome foolish guys!" A giggle rang out close by.

"That's Umbra!" Blood Shadow exclaimed.

"Hmpf. What's so special about that jerk?" Solo asked.

"We'll soon see, I guess. We'll cut radio contact for a while to concentrate on the fight and report once it's over!" Rock Man replied.

"Fine."

"In the meanwhile… Who's up for a desert race?" Omega joked.

"Omega!" Vadous hissed.

"Ops. _Shachou_ got annoyed."

"Shut the beak up!"

"Beak Man showed up yesterday on Southampton with the 4:44 PM express!" Omega laughed.

Solo scoffed while the others grumbled under their breaths…

20:11 PM (Japan Time)…

"… So! You guys wanna see what stuff I'm made of?"

"Yeah! I'm gonna bite your secret weapon!"

"W-what?"

"Don't listen to him: he's trolling."

"Yeah. We're serious."

"Phew."

Umbra had showed up in front of Rock Man and Blood Shadow while inside of a decrepit factory-like building containing an exact copy of Dealer's "Crimson Machine": War Rock had made another of his jokes thus turning Umbra nervous but the other two calmed him down somehow.

"Heh, heh, heh… My Special Ability is… Chaos Unison!"

"Chaos Unison?"

"Use the data of "Darkloid" which integrates with my body and allows me to use some of their abilities… Blues Chaos!"

Umbra was surrounded by a blackish sphere of energy and some data flowed into it to build up over his body thus drawing a new silhouette to his design: the light dimmed and both gasped.

"So?"

Umbra had gained a purple vest over his upper body with yellow diamond-shaped edges where his shoulders were located at.

His helmet now had a triangle-like form with two yellowish right-triangle-shaped fins emerging on the sides: a band of the same color ran down the front of the helmet as well.

His hair had grown somewhat in length as well while he'd gained a sword similar to DS Blues' one on the right forearm and an oval-shaped piece of armor over the left forearm colored yellow and blue.

His boots had turned purple and the front ends of them were colored yellow as well.

"Chaos Unison…!" Blood Shadow muttered.

"Yeah… The original concept was named "Soul Unison" and was supposed to work as the program entered into contact with another and they shared experiences together thus "resonating"… But since I work alone, Master came up with this "Dark" version of it, ya see." Umbra explained with a grin.

"So that's your true power…" Rock Man muttered.

"Yeah. By the way, Hoshikawa Subaru… Did you know there's one Noise Change you've never been able to unlock?"

"What?" Rock Man gasped.

"Burai Noise!"

"Burai Noise, you say!"

"Its advantages are numerous… Sword-type Battle Cards would get 50 points plus bonus on attack… Enemies can't lock-on into you… Non-freezing Cards cause "Paralyze"… And it has no weakness! You can't use a NFB, though. And do you know why you never unlocked it?" Umbra teased with a grin.

"Burai works alone… Loneliness… Of course… Burai Noise would only work for someone who has no Brother Bands!" He realized.

"Correct. It's not like I can use it, though, but I'm teasing you to the fact that sometimes, loneliness favors one's self." Umbra giggled.

"Tell that to Solo." Rock Man calmly challenged.

"No need to. You guys won't get past here."

"Yeah? How are you so sure of it?" Blood Shadow questioned.

"Because of _this_!"

"Coming!"

Umbra suddenly warped and showed up in front of Blood Shadow: he pressed his left hand over his chest and a purple circle with the _kanji muryoku_ or powerless formed over it: purple electricity travelled down Blood Shadow's body and he yelled before he collapsed face-down on the body: Umbra warped again and slashed Rock Man twice while forming the "X" letter: Rock Man was paralyzed for some seconds in which Umbra delivered six attacks in a row: Rock Man suddenly drew a blade shining with a purple tint.

"Muramasa Blade~!"

"No way~!"

Rock Man hit Umbra with it and shattered his upper armor: the gash was so deep that it tore through the bodysuit below it and revealed his "flesh" beneath it: a clean cut was visible there which began to leak data: Umbra clutched the wound with left hand and panted.

"C-crap…! Got confident…!" He cursed.

"Hah… Hah… Did you think that I've… survived this whole… time… out of mere luck…?" Rock Man questioned between pants.

"We've beaten Sirius, Apollon Flame, Crimson Dragon, Ra Mu and Andromeda plus a myriad of Denpa Bodies! Did you think we don't know how to battle?" War Rock added.

"C-crap… Can't keep on fighting like this, yet… By the time you return to Earth… There'll be nothing left… Apocalypse… Chaos… Destruction… Ruin… Despair… Terror… Master's "remake" can take place… And nothing will stop him… Even if you come to the HQ… You won't be able to overcome the "trials" waiting for you guys…" Umbra muttered between pants while forming a psychotic grin.

"Boast… while you can…!" Rock Man shot back.

"Hah, hah, hah… That sounds manlier than your "predecessor"… Well then… I'll be going back and you can be ready because… Something waiting there is gonna shaken your perceptions and make you question all of your deeds… _Sayounara_!"

Umbra jumped into the Warp Point and vanished but not before tossing his medallion having his own emblem drawn into it: Rock Man picked it up before tending to Blood Shadow: he was starting to regain consciousness and groaning.

"That's worse than being hit by an Inazuma Head Virus…!" He cursed aloud with a hint of sarcasm.

"Are you alright, Blood?"

"Y-yeah… Somehow…"

"Oi! Is that speech about a "predecessor" true?" War Rock questioned.

"Yeah… He was just like that guy, but colored navy blue and having green eyes instead…" Blood Shadow admitted.

"So Umbra is his antithesis…"

"But I hadn't met him before coming here, mind you."

"So that Demon King guy created him just to be that…"

"No doubt… Let's go back to the HQ… We gotta make contact with Earth and check on what became of those 30 missiles heading over there: they surely have gotten there by now because… if these guys' "gateway" tech is identical… They will be travelling above light-speed… But there's a top of how much stress those things can endure given their reduced size and mass, so maybe they have to go slower and are still on transit…" Blood Shadow explained.

"There are some Denpa – Henkan users who could bring down those missiles, too…" Rock Man muttered.

"Che! I'd liked to bite…" War Rock began.

"Rock! This is serious! Save your silly jokes for later!" Rock Man cursed aloud, for once.

"… Alright. Guess I should be serious already…"

Rock Man looked nervous while Blood Shadow cursed under his breath…

20:22 PM (Japan Time)…

"… I'm back, Master, sir…"

"Hum. That wound is business. Have it treated."

"R-roger, sir…"

"It was a good idea to knock out that imitator and chain in those combos, yet I wasn't expecting such a desperate counter… Take it into account for the next time, Umbra."

"R-roger, sir…"

Umbra had entered the control room and kneeled in front of "Demon King" who sounded calm: the missiles were already gone from the room and the only thing left was some smoke and heat residue: all lights in the console had turned off, too.

"Ah! Are the "trials" ready for tomorrow?"

"They are, sir, plus the last Darkloid team, sir… Forte, Solid and Liquid are also ready, sir…"

"Good work. Rest for tonight and tomorrow we'll settle the score with those bothersome flies."

"R-roger, sir… Good night, sir…"

Umbra stood up and managed to walk out of the room at a slow rate while clutching his wound: "Demon King" chuckled and spread his arms wide.

"Heh, heh, heh. I should rest, too, and assimilate with the power which has been flying into me all day long… Vadous! You lowlife and I are going to fight to the death. Come at me! I shall dismember you lowlife into pieces and feed you to the sharks! Then Ice Queen – sama will choose me as Her Grace's only and true heir… And the future world shall be forever ruled by the "Secret Empire"…! You lowlifes stand no chance against the Great Demon King of this _makai_… Come and meet your deaths!"

The man exploded into triumphal laughter…


	19. Chapter 19: Great Demon King

**Chapter 19: Great Demon King**

08:09 AM (Japan Time), Sunday May the 30th…

"… We've finally come all the way here, Subaru - kun."

"Yeah… Yesterday was endless, Misora - chan!"

"Sure was…"

"But it was worth it."

"Heh, heh, heh. There'll be plenty of guys to slice and dice. I'm not a skilled sword user in vain, mind ya…"

"Hmpf. That's my motto."

"Why did ya tag along, anyway? We didn't tell you to."

"Hmpf. Knowing you lowlifes, there'll be nothing but scrap left by the time I'd get in."

"Then let's get in already."

Rock Man, Harp Note, Omega and Burai were chatting as they stood in the middle of a round square along with Sigma, Lartes, Kir Ohs and Blood Shadow.

The square had ten tall black marble columns having a hollow cavity half-way up their height and circuitry boards travelling upwards and downwards: a large circle interconnected the whole set and the square's floor had more circuitry boards built into it plus a locked Wave Station on the middle of it: the Wave Road emerging from it formed a climbing stairway which ended into an equally locked "ACCESS" point in front of a gigantic cloud several hundred meters wide and some tens of meters tall hovering idle at a high height over the square.

The whole set had been built in the middle of a valley: the entrance was marked with an archway on the south-facing side of it and horizontal columns were set across the base to keep it above a gorge where several rivers converged and formed a whirlpool: a stone bridge crossed over one and connected with a paved road going out into the desert.

"O. K.! Let's put the medallions into their spots!" Sigma rallied.

"They have a number behind them, so…" Blood Shadow shrugged.

They inserted the medallions in the corresponding order: the circuitry board in each column shone red as each medallion was inserted: when the last one was inserted, the circle above the columns lighted up: the whole set descended to ground level and fed energy to the Wave Station: it turned on and so did the "ACCESS" point: the clouds frizzled with static electricity and began to disperse.

"Look!" Rock Man gasped.

The clouds faded completely to reveal a gigantic black-colored metallic spheroid: it had a large circular hatch (currently closed) built atop it and some viewing windows: some metallic spires sprouted out of the main body at intervals, too.

"So that's their HQ… And I'm sure the hatch was used to fire the missiles…" Omega deduced.

"Speaking of which… WAXA told us they never reached Earth. Strange, isn't it?" Rock Man brought up.

"No. For some reason, they broke during FTL travel and the Crimson clustered into a small spheroid roughly the size of a loose meteor: maybe the villain tried to speed them up past their stress tolerance levels and that's why they broke during the flight." Omega confirmed with a hint of surprise.

"Hmpf." Burai looked amused.

"If you want to go on ahead and deal with the rubbish… We'll come in after you." Rock Man suggested to him.

"That's my style." He grinned.

He entered the Wave Road and quickly climbed it up: when he reached the "ACCESS" point, however, a doorway three meters tall and tree wide opened and a small ledge popped out, too. Burai shrugged and jumped inside while the others also stepped inside.

"… Heh, heh, heh. You lowlife can't defeat an expert at stealth… Calling on Shadow Man!"

"Heh, heh, heh. You want to die so badly? Then I shall trap you within eternal ice… Freeze Man has spoken."

"Rubbish like you does not deserve to step into the _Daimou_'s Palace like that. Knight Man will dispose of you."

"Hah! My speed is unmatchable! Quick Man – sama will blow you up!"

"It'd seem Burai has company… Blood, Sigma! We three will take care of them with him: you guys go on ahead. Gotcha?"

"Fine." Lartes replied.

"Sounds logical, so…"

The group ran into a wide round and metallic room lighted by fluorescent lights set on the ceiling: two armored doors were set on the far end of it and were currently locked by four metallic bars, two horizontal and two vertical, having four holes where another four medallions obviously were supposed to fit in.

Four "Darkloids" were attacking Burai who was having trouble trying to dodge his attacks.

The one named Shadow Man looked like a _ninja_ and appealed as being over a meter and seventy tall.

His face was partly hidden by a protection over the mouth and nose: his eyes' irises were colored green with black pupils.

A red _shuriken_ with metallic edges was placed upon his forehead as well as if to emphasize his design.

He wore a purple tunic over his torso with grayish mail on the center part of it: a red circle surrounded the base of his neck and extended into two large "check" signs which ended past the knees.

His emblem (a mere three-spike weapon like the ones _ninja_ used drawn black and placed upon a yellow background) was on his ear-pads:

The forehead _shuriken_ also covered the nose.

His shoulders were gray metallic spheroids from which his arms emerged: the elbows had a round circle with an outer metallic edge and an inner red edge plus a spike placed on them: two purple bands of armor covered his forearms with a bit of spacing between each other.

A thin metallic belt was set on his waist: his legs were covered by pants-shaped armor which ended slightly below the knees: his feet were covered by traditional socks and he had sandals on.

Lastly, a _katana_ sheath was located behind his body and was currently empty given how he was using it right now: his emblem was also being repeated on the right side of his torso.

"My _shinobi_ techniques are unrivaled!" He announced.

"Che. Rubbish." Burai scoffed.

The second opponent's (Freeze Man's) body was made of ice and had armor over the torso, arms, forearms, and legs below the knees.

His head was geometrically shaped and he had two blue eyes sans pupils on them, a nose and a mouth: two small ice spears emerged from where his ears should be at.

His torso's armor had a greenish circle with two spears coming out from the sides and his emblem (a white diamond with a hollow spot in the middle of it and surrounded by a black background) drawn upon it: the rest of the armor was navy blue in coloring while both the upper and lower edges were colored using greenish coloring.

Three ice spears shaped like prisms emerged from each shoulder and had greenish edges surrounding them plus a thicker one emerging from above each palm: the armor ended around the wrist and had a greenish edge.

Three small spears formed on the outward faces of each boot and they followed the same coloring pattern as in the upper body: two small vertical rectangles were also placed near the lower rim of the boots: their soils were also greenish in coloring.

"Taste despair."

The third of the "Darkloids", the one named Quick Man, was also as tall as his two companions.

His face was encompassed by a protective helmet colored red and having a golden _boomerang_ set on the forehead: his ear-pad drawing was, essentially, a _boomerang_ aiming towards the right set against a black background.

He had a mouth, a nose and his eyes were green with black pupils.

His neck and part of his upper body set within those golden borders was colored black.

His upper body's choice of color palette was red with golden borders set around his neck as well.

His forearms were surrounded by golden armor with a red stripe close to the far edge: they turned thicker around the wrist and a slightly curved golden blade emerged from there: the skin of the arms, like in most cases, was just plain black.

A metallic belt with his emblem set on the middle spot circled his waist: two metallic stripes ran down the outward-facing sides of his legs and the skin was also plain black until the knees.

His boots were colored red and had another piece of armor extending from above the knees and past them: a black triangle could be spotted next to the ankle on the inward-facing side of the boots which had golden soils.

"Unless ya could run as fast as an express train, ya wouldn't be able to match the great me's speed." He proclaimed.

"Che. Boast while you can."

"O. K.! I'll pick that Quick Man guy." Omega grinned.

"I'll go for that big armored guy…" Sigma grinned.

"I'd rather fight the icy enemy…" Blood Shadow shrugged.

"Then this _ninja_ is mine. Fine." Burai shrugged.

"Oi! Crusader! I'm your worst nightmare!" Sigma taunted.

"How dare you!"

The last of the "Darkloids", named Knight Man, was slightly taller than his three companion.

His head was hidden inside of a medieval armor – like helmet with two yellow eyes shining from inside of the metallic visor.

The helmet included an orange piece emerging from the top of it as well.

His whole body was covered by navy blue armor.

His chest had his emblem (an orange cross which divided it into quarters: the NW and SE corners were colored white while the NE and SW corners were colored black) set on it plus three arrows emerging from it and aiming left, right and downwards.

His shoulders were blue spheroids with a curved purple-colored slice set on them: his forearms were covered in thick blue armor and he carried a wrecking ball on his right forearm's end while the left one ended in a normal human hand.

A metallic belt crossed the waist and had two diamond-shaped figures added to it close to the left and right edges of the main body: the armor below it was shaped like a medieval armor skirt split in three pieces: his legs ended in thick feet the front part of which was colored metallic gray.

"Such a monster won't make it past the Honor Hall!"

"Hah? Monster? Me? Aren't ya guys the ones who tried to destroy the Earth to begin with?" Sigma taunted.

"No time to sit idle… Here I go~!"

Omega suddenly dashed forward at a mad speed while leaving "afterimages" of his own while heading for Quick Man: the enemy didn't have time to react as Omega plunged his sword into his upper torso and made it pass through his body and emerge from behind.

"Gotcha, ugly."

Quick Man uttered a guttural sound before blowing up: the other three gasped and looked horrified.

"What!"

"Slow."

"Gotcha."

Burai suddenly tossed the Laplace Blade around twice to hit Shadow Man and cut his waist in half: Shadow Man also blew up to the increasing horror of both Freeze Man and Knight Man.

"E-even if we fall…! You won't be able to overcome the "trials" waiting further ahead…!" They both exclaimed.

"Nothing can pierce my armor!" Knight Man proclaimed.

"Be gone! Ice Stage! Icicle Fall…! Ice Tower! Mountain Spear!"

Freeze Man suddenly turned the ground into an Ice Stage to then summon several icicles which rained down on the field: some prisms similar to the ones he had on his body formed out of the ground while aiming upwards and, lastly, he generated some metallic spears which shot forward: he didn't see a Dancing Blade X incoming from the left which hit him: Blood Shadow was already in front of his noses and delivered a combo using a Sword Fighter X plus a Giza Wheel X.

"Thunderbolt Blade!"

Blood Shadow switched his shotgun for the Thunderbolt Blade and swung it 45º in each side before hitting the floor with it and making a thunderbolt fall down upon Freeze Man: he roared and blew up as well: Knight Man was stepping back by now.

"Why, you…! Royal Wrecking Ball!"

Knight Man began to spin around before shooting forward without losing momentum as if he was a projectile: Sigma tossed the sword aside and extended his hands.

"Heh!"

He blocked Knight Man, pulled his wrecking ball out and hit the upper body with it several times to weaken the armor: he finished by picking the sword and plunging it through him: Knight Man groaned and blew up.

"Heh! One's greatest weakness is he himself, or so they say!"

"Hmpf. True." Burai grinned.

Four medallions with each Darkloid's crest dropped down into the ground so they hurried to pick them up and place them on the doors: the intercrossing bars unlocked: the doors opened and a ramp was revealed.

"Go!"

They ran it up and crossed another set of opened doors into a new cubical room the floor of which was filled with Warp Points: there was another set of locked doors protected by a reddish aura of energy.

"I guess there are enemies inside… Huh? They have a keyword and each one's names…" Lartes muttered.

"Mine reads "Duo" … Two enemies… Maybe Solid and Liquid…"

"Mine reads "Shade": it's gotta be Umbra…" Harp Note read aloud.

"This reads "Grave" and it's gotta be a strong guy…" Acid Ace guessed.

"Hmpf. This one reads "sphere" but I don't know who it is."

"… "Angel"… Ironic… Why would an _angel_ be in a _makai_, anyway?"

"Hmmm… This one reads "Ultimate", so… I'd stake for Forte."

"Huh… "Sorcerer"… _Majin_… Dunno." Sigma grumbled.

"Here reads "statue"… What statue?" Lartes wondered.

"And another reads "wings"… But it can't be Cygnus Wing!"

"There's one for Boss, too, which reads "machine"…" Lartes added.

"Guess I'm supposed to come out, then… Get inside!"

08:19 AM (Japan Time)…

"… What's this place…?"

"Dunno. One thing is clear: they're fond of haunted mansion films like the ones I hid under your pillow…"

"What, what? When did you…?"

"Heh, heh, heh. Trolling!"

"Che."

"… So. You've come this far, Subaru – kun."

"Heh, heh, heh. Been a while, ain't it?"

"Who…?"

"Forgotten me…? I thought you'd been looking for me…"

"Oi, oi! Don't forget me!"

"Solid and Liquid…?"

Rock Man had ended up in the midst of what looked like a haunted mansion's foyer room: two stairs climbed up to the first floor but were rotten and decayed: there was almost no lighting, a part of the handrail had fallen off thus blocking the doors in front of him: two wooden planks were nailed in front of the entrance doors as if cutting out his only escape route: a broken window above it allowed moonlight inside.

"What panorama, really."

Two figures were standing in the upper floor balcony: one was largely visible given its white coloring while the other, black, was harder to spot.

"You sound familiar!" Rock Man muttered.

"Of course… It's been over a year, yet… I'm surprised you didn't realize it before. I thought it was pretty obvious." Solid replied.

"Heh, heh, heh. It'd seem Rock – chan over there slows down your mental speed!" Liquid chuckled.

"Wha~t?" War Rock growled.

"Cool it down, Rock."

"Hah!"

"Hah!"

Both figures jumped into the air to then land in front of Rock Man: he could now see that their left and right arms were covered in golden-like armor.

"Those colorings…!" Rock Man gasped.

"_Lights_! _Camera_! _A~nd_… _Action_!" Liquid exclaimed.

Two gas lights turned on to reveal _Gemini Spark White & Black_ standing in front of Rock Man: he recoiled, taken aback.

"Tsu – Tsukasa – kun…? Hikaru…?" He gasped.

"… Yeah." Tsukasa replied.

"Missed us?" Hikaru teased.

"B-but why would you…?" Rock Man tried to ask.

"… I had no other choice."

"What?"

"He approached me. And told me you would die unless I cooperated with him… And that's why we're here." Tsukasa muttered while looking away and avoiding eye contact.

"Like Tsukasa said… That's the whole tale in a nutshell." Hikaru grinned and shrugged.

"Wait, Subaru! These two guys' aura reeks! I can't feel a human's body feeling from them! It's like back then… When we found the communication module belonging to "Bonds"…! Gemini showed up and revealed his capacity to recreate his Denpa – Henkan form without the need of Tsukasa…!" War Rock called out.

"T-then…! They're _imitators_!"

"Yeah… I don't feel a trace of Gemini's personality… They've been designed to mirror Tsukasa and Hikaru!"

"… I knew we'd be found out, anyway, but Master wanted you to go through this moment of confusion which could make you question what you fight for…" Solid sighed.

"We dunno what became of our "originals": guess not even Master knows!" Liquid shrugged.

"Then… What's inside of the other Warp Points?"

"Don't ya know someone whose name begins by "Grave", by the way, Hoshikawa?" Liquid teased.

"Grave… Grave Joker…!"

"Go ahead and try to use that brilliant brain of yours to decipher the rest, Mr. Universe!" Liquid challenged.

"Eh… "Sphere"… Something to do with spheres… Round… Sphere… The Moon…? Moon Disaster…? No… Wait… The Sun is a spheroid, too… Ah! Apollon Flame…! Burai's opponent is Apollon Flame…!"

"Correct…" Solid dully confirmed.

"And why the heck would ya place an "angel" inside of a _makai_, anyway, you grunts?" War Rock demanded.

"There are "evil" angels, too!"

"Evil… Angel… Sirius!" Rock Man gasped.

"Heh, heh, heh. So? Who's the "sorcerer", Mr. Smiles?"

"Sorcerer… Wizard… Robes… Spells… Magic… Empty!"

"I'll praise ya, Watson."

"That's my motto!" War Rock protested.

"Bite my secret weapon."

"Oh yeah! I'm so gonna do that!"

"You're not gonna do anything, Rock!"

"… Try to decipher "statue"…" Solid challenged.

"Stone… Statue… Large, tall… Ra Mu…!"

"Wings…"

"Winged… Beast… Winged beast…? Crimson Dragon…!"

"Oi, oi! This is turning dire!" War Rock muttered.

"Machine…"

"Machine… If we've had Ra Mu and Crimson Dragon, then…! It's gotta be Andromeda!" Rock Man grasped.

"Now that quiz games are over… You die." Liquid grinned as he drew his Elec Slash weapon.

"Yeah. But be glad we sabotaged the missiles to break during transit: Forte, Umbra and I couldn't bear with the idea of plunging so many persons into needless suffering although this guy over here would've done it, anyway." Solid added.

"… I know they're copies, but…! Fighting Gemini again on the communications module room was one thing, because I could see Tsukasa – kun there and I knew it was a fake, yet…! Ugh! I don't know if I'll be able to pull myself together…" Rock Man made a grimace.

"If ya lower the guard, then it's over!" War Rock warned.

"Get ready." Solid drily announced.

"'Cause we're gonna bring yer head to Master…" Liquid announced in an evil manner as he stuck his tongue out and licked the edges of his Elec Slash weapon.

"Ugh…! Wave Battle… Ride On!"

Both opponents jumped towards Rock Man…

8:23 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Screen Divide!"

"Ugh! Shield!"

"So?"

"Che! Don't look down on me: you'll regret it!"

"Obviously… Everyone looked down on my predecessor and got busted as well…"

"And that door won't open unless we bring all of you guys' HP to 0, then…?"

"Not really… Solid, Liquid, Forte and I are designed so that our HP can only be lowered until the 50 HP value…"

"Why?"

"Master will then personally finish us off and absorb our energy to be complete…"

"What!"

Harp Note was facing Umbra inside of a room decorated like it was outer space.

His new helmet included a triangle-shaped object aiming downwards, two small fins towards the rear and one small pyramid-shaped object set on the forehead which was colored in a brighter brown color.

A mouth-guard with bright brown edges and mud brown main coloring was set over his mouth and nose: his eyes were still visible, though.

The chest armor's coloring was mud brown with a thin silver edge around the base of the neck.

He had two dome-shaped objects colored yellow over his shoulders and he carried an orange dome with four white fin-like formations.

A blue energy blade emerged from there.

The left arm, by comparison, had a yellowish rim around the wrist and one brown triangle aiming upwards.

His boots' design had changed as well: he had cross-shaped yellowish pieces of armor over the knees and his boots had a mainly square form around the feet: they had parallel edges colored yellow and forming a stair-like pattern.

Two small trapezes were drawn near the lower edge.

"Colonel Chaos is ideal for close-quarter fights…"

"Just WHO is that "Master"? How can he be so cruel?"

"Dunno. But don't mistake me. I ended up sabotaging the missiles so that they'd never reach Earth. But he's too obsessed with Vadous to suspect out involvement and believes he used some kind of trick to intercept the missiles…" Umbra calmly replied.

"… Why do you have to obey him?"

"If I want to live, obviously enough… I was deleted once. The knowledge of it chills me and I desperately cling into something to remain alive… That's my "life" as of now…" Umbra admitted.

"But then… You're not really "evil"! You really aren't! You could be a nice person if you wanted to!"

"… Truth is… When I got deleted… That was because I tried to protect my predecessor and his companions… His "Operator" as well… I gave up my life out of my own volition… I got resurrected because Master wanted to steal of any "pride" I had and turn it into fear of the eternal blackness…"

"That's why…!" Harp Note began.

"It won't work: I have a bomb inside of my body. Master will not let go of me… Ever. I'll fight to the end and I'll then fulfill my _raison d'être_… But tell Rock Man his "Bond Power" is truly limitless…"

"No! Wait!" Harp Note gasped.

Umbra jumped across the air towards her…

08:34 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Really… I have no reason to fight you, but…"

"I don't, either. But that's what soldiers do, right?"

Blood Shadow and Forte were facing off inside of a room decorated like a battlefield: Blood Shadow was trying to dodge Forte's relentless attacks while they argued.

"But…! Having to be weakened in battle and then finished off… That's the cruelest thing I've ever seen…! Is that Demon King guy a cold-blood killer or what?" Blood Shadow asked.

"Guess so… And there's an irony to my existence… I'm a copy: and because the original was supposed to work alone without depending on anyone… He wanted to make the irony of me being under his command and only being allowed to live by serving him…" Forte shrugged.

"If I know Boss… He'll be able to defeat that man no matter what happens…!" Blood Shadow muttered.

"Yeah. But remember what Nebula Grey said: Master isn't the last of your problems. There'll be an interlude which can span whole months before a new incident is sprung… A new "evil" will rise up… Nebula Grey will stir up parties given its ability to remain as a simple program which can use several other programs to its benefit…" Forte reminded him.

"Crap… What a monster!"

"Yeah… That thing won't die just like that: you did destroy the whole of it, yet… It had already prepared a small piece to be split from the body and ready to begin wandering and plotting…"

"… Guess I have no other choice, then… Come!"

"Same thing over here… Earth Breaker!"

Forte extended his right hand and began to build up yellowish energy into it which grew into a shining spheroid: Blood Shadow aimed his shotgun at it while Forte leapt towards him…

09:08 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Phew! What a nightmare… Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah… Somehow…"

The ten expedition members had gathered in the Warp Point room: all of them had turned inactive and the doors have been unlocked revealing a cargo elevator: they headed towards it and stepped into it: the elevator quickly climbed up to a higher floor before stopping: they came out into a crossway of corridors but all of them expect for the one heading upwards were locked by steel shutters.

"I guess we can only keep on ahead… I'll take point: it's me who that man wants. You guys stand back and, if needed, break through those doors and explore the rest of this place…" Vadous instructed.

"Hmpf. Fine." Burai shrugged.

Vadous walked ahead of them and climbed up the ramp which ended in two open armored doors which had swung inwards to reveal the control room: someone was standing there and giving him the back.

"Hmpf. You came. Vadous!" The man announced.

"_Daimaou_, I guess."

"_Daimou_… Twilight!"

The man turned around: he was over a meter and ninety tall.

The body design looked very similar to that of Umbra's.

He had a helmet with a mouth guard (similar to that of Vadous) on: his eyes were visible and it could be seen that they were colored red crimson.

He had two curious shoulder pads which were shaped as two split halves of a diamond.

His chest emblem consisted on just two shades of black and white split by a horizontal grey line.

His main body's color was navy blue.

The forearms and his boots were colored in purple.

A black smooth cape hung from the back of his shoulders and reached all the way to the floor.

"Twilight…" Vadous muttered.

"Indeed! I am the true heir to Ice Queen – sama: one of the "Demon Tribe"! My destiny was encoded into my genes before I came to exist and I'm about to accomplish it!" He announced.

"Genetically engineered human… Like me and Lartes… A 3rd one… Maria sure wanted to have a backup…" Vadous drily muttered.

"How dare you lowlife name Ice Queen – sama with such a vulgar and forbidden name? I shall make sure to exterminate you lowlife right here and now… And then Ice Queen – sama will return to Her Grace's former glory!" Twilight exclaimed.

He violently signaled the doorways with his right arm: they suddenly closed shut and a purple-colored field of energy blocked them: he then formed a Break Saber on his right forearm and shattered the glass of the control room to then jump down into the room which had stored the missiles: Vadous dropped down there, too.

"My master plan went ashtray because of you lowlife, but… Once the "Secret Empire" is brought up again to its full glory… You lowlifes will taste despair and hopelessness!" Twilight proclaimed.

"Boast while you can, Twilight."

"Hah! Boast, you say? I have no need for such! I have calculated everything: nothing can go wrong!"

"You said the same about the missiles and I was able to stop them nevertheless by placing a program to monitor FTL traffic: I redirected them to a higher-speed lane and that's why they broke." Vadous shot back.

Twilight drew two Sword Fighter X Battle Cards while Vadous drew both of his swords: they stood still for some seconds before rushing towards each other and roaring...


	20. Chapter 20: Last Battle, Ride On!

**Chapter 20: Last Battle! Ride On!**

09:14 AM (Japan Time), Sunday May the 30th…

"… Nyah, hah, hah, ha~h! Beast Man – sama is gonna slice you lowlifes into pieces!"

"Hmpf. Boast while you can."

"Hah! Dust Man – sama is gonna turn you into _dust_!"

"I'm so scared, really!"

"Hah! Ground Man – sama will run over you guys!"

"Bring it on, ugly!"

"… Phantom Claw!"

"Che! The script jerk is back!"

"Yeah… The residual "Denpa" from this guy's "R" version…!"

Burai, Harp Note, Acid Ace and Rock Man were facing three "Darkloids" and Phantom Black "R" inside of the crossroad room the doors of which had been blown up.

Burai's opponent, Beast Man, was slightly taller than him, appealing at around a meter and sixty tall: he was a "humanoid" model yet he had a _beastly_ (like his name hinted) appearance.

His head was colored in the same color: a reddish slide-shaped piece sprouted from the top of it: his eyes' irises were red with black pupils: his jaw's color was brown and he had no nose: two fangs formed from inside of the nose openings.

The drawing on his ear-pads was three parallel scars aiming SE and set against a black background: his orange-like hair came out from beneath the head and formed seven arched spikes which also extended downwards past the upper torso armor while forming six spikes: a reddish band surrounded the base of his neck.

His upper torso's armor was colored mud brown.

It had two fang-like drawings colored silver set over the sides of it.

His shoulders were orange spheroids with two red diamonds set over each one: his arms were missing the elbows and his forearms were larger than common: they were colored orange and the wrists ended in thick red circles having four small black rectangles drawn over it: three large claws and a shorter one sprouted from the ends of each one.

His hair also continued down his spine as well: his body until the hips was also colored black before the mud brown armor covered the legs and the feet started.

The knee segment was decorated with a reddish edge, a main black color, and the forward edges were colored orange: the black coloring continued until the base of the feet from where three claws emerged from: two round orange spots were placed near the ends of the legs.

"Die." Burai dully announced.

"Jumping Claw!"

Harp Note's opponent, Dust Man, was a gigantic machine-like "Darkloid", easily close to two meters tall: his main coloring was metallic-like orange plus olive green.

His face had seven golden cylinders emerging from over it plus two normal eyes and a tablet-shaped mouth.

His upper torso had a rectangular hatch-like device colored metallic gray and with two small yellow rectangles set on each side: the hatch was closed and had two pyramidal shapes drawn on it: the structure supporting it, which crossed over the shoulders, was colored olive green and ended in a large heat exhaust occupying the whole of his approximately square body.

His arms ended in orange circles containing five cylinders connecting to an accessory: the central one was colored metallic gray while the outer ones were white in coloring: the right hand's accessory was a metallic disk with four short needles and a hole in the middle: the left hand, however, was the contrary: one central needle and four surrounding holes.

He had a normal waist with a belt set on it: his emblem's figure was drawn inside of it and it happened to be two Alphabet "T" letters spun to a side and facing each other colored metallic gray.

His legs ended in two olive green-colored pieces of armor covering the feet which were shaped like circles and having a small unprotected spot half-way along it.

"Hah, hah, hah! Take this!"

"Shock Strings!"

Acid Ace's opponent, Ground Man, was more machine in design and was as tall as Dust Man.

His head had no neck and was protected by a piece of armor shaped like the Alphabet "U" character: his face's skin was white and he had two normal eyes plus an irregular line crossing through it which obviously was his mouth.

The edge of his ear-pads was red in color and his drawing was three mountain peaks (the left and right one being identical in height while the center one was taller) drawn upon a black background.

An orange cylinder with a metallic spear on the rear end was built atop his head: the front end had a brown edge and a drill built into it.

His upper body's coloring was metallic orange and he had a brown-colored stripe set on the middle of it plus two trapeze-shaped bases colored yellow turned horizontally and aiming towards the middle of it.

His orange-colored spheroid shoulders had two metallic hexagons set over them with two drills emerging from them: his arms did have elbows and the forearm armor was orange in color, too: his hands emerged from inside of two hexagons as well.

His lower body had tank "caterpillar" tracks built into it and was colored mud brown: the tracks were black in color while the supporting frame was metallic gray.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah! I'll pierce that armor like if it was mere plastic!"

"Bring it on!"

"Hah!"

"Gotcha. Impact Cannon!"

"Guoh!"

Phantom Black "R" had tried to attack Rock Man using his cane but Rock Man was faster and shot an Impact Cannon at him from close-quarters to stun him: he chained a Sword Fighter X plus a Charge Shot, too.

"O. K.! The finishing blow! Thunderbolt… Blade!"

Rock Man drew the sword and delivered the two swinging attacks followed by the thunderbolt which rained down from the sky: Phantom Black "R" roared and blew up: a purple spheroid formed where he'd been standing at and warped out of the room.

"Rubbish."

"Gua~h!"

Burai had sliced Beast Man's waist in half and he roared before he was destroyed, too, and a purple spheroid came outta him.

"Spade Magnets Galaxy Advance!"

"Ugo~h!"

Harp Note had summoned Spade Magnets and his two sword strikes were enough to finish Dust Man off while Harp Note shrugged.

"Gotcha, ugly. Go compete with Crimson Dragon in ugliness. Wing Blade~!"

"Gu… Gua~h!"

Acid Ace rammed Ground Man against a wall and ended up destroying him, too, and he grinned.

"Uglier than Queen Tia's newest makeup, too." He laughed.

"Is that so?"

"Wha! Tia! When did you…?"

"We've been hearing the whole conversation ever since you were in the square." She icily replied.

"By the way… What become of those four?" Daigo asked.

"When we lowered their HP to 50 points, they were warped out of the room… I was going to try to find them…" Rock Man admitted.

"Hmpf. Why care about the enemy?" Burai scoffed.

"Because they were forced to take part into this: that's why. They're not really "evil" per se!" Rock Man protested.

"Hmpf. How _naïve_… Do as you like. I'm off to finishing off some of those G Viruses which ambushed the others… I need a thrill."

Burai ran off while Rock Man muttered something under his breath with a hint of annoyance: he then straightened and looked around.

"Maybe in the control room…?" He wondered.

"Or maybe in one of those observations rooms…?" Harp Note suggested instead.

"It ain't crazy…" He shrugged.

"Go ahead. I've got to shake Ms. Ice outta me, anyway." Acid Ace told them while he shrugged.

"Now, now… Shidou – chan! Don't be so rude! Watch your manners, young child!" Dr. Yoiri told him.

"Yes, ma'am… But I'd prefer to know before speaking if there's a live radio channel functioning!"

"My bad. I forgot to say it because I rushed over here." Vadous admitted.

"Die~!" Twilight roared.

There was the sound of metal hitting metal followed by some undecipherable sounds.

"This guy is starting to annoy me." Vadous grumbled.

"You lowlife aren't fighting seriously!"

"You see, Twilight, I don't fight just for nothing. And something tells me you're not at 100% power yet, either."

"Hmpf! True… But when I absorb the remaining "souls"… Then I shall achieve perfection!"

"No – one's perfect: Maria wasn't and I ain't. You won't either, no matter how much energy you try to absorb into your Denpa Body. All energy has a limit: you can't absorb infinite amounts of them in a human-sized body, you see." Vadous shrugged.

"You lowlife… Boast while you can!"

"Gotcha. Dancing Blade X!"

"Guack! You lowlife… I now see…! You lowlife carry a Hunter – VG built into the right forearm!"

"Yeah. Just like most Denpa – Henkan users, anyway."

"Hah! A mere device won't grant you lowlife victory."

"Have you ever thought what Maria sees in you?"

"Obviously! An heir!"

"A use-and-throw tool…"

"Shut up!"

"Like I thought… You're stuck into your "perfection" like that woman was and refuse to see reality. We're all tools under her thumb. But a human ain't a tool, so that's why Lartes and I brought her down. There's no way I'd cooperate with someone who wanted to murder Rock Man just to plunge the world into depression and sell fake medicines."

"That was a perfect plan!"

"Perfect… Don't make me laugh. Hammer Weapon X! You go down here!"

09:22 AM (Japan Time)…

"… So! You guys were there, after all!"

"Yeah… Enjoying our last scenery…"

"We were driven to accept death from the start."

"So we're waiting for it."

"Heh! There'll a huge tournament in the Afterworld with all the guys who've fallen."

"Is there no way around? Can't we remove those programs?"

"No… Any tampering would set them off."

"No…! I won't accept that…!"

"Accept it, Hoshikawa Subaru. Master will see to it."

Rock Man had found Umbra, Forte, Solid and Liquid inside of the observation room and was pleading with them: three of four looked calm and ready for what was coming while Liquid was making fun of it.

"Give it up, Subaru. There's nothing you can do." War Rock sighed.

"I saved Earth _thrice_ and I can't save four persons?" Rock Man formed a grimace.

"Subaru! You're not all-powerful! You have your limits!" War Rock reminded him.

"Like he says…" Solid sighed.

"I'll make sure to tell that silly Libra that his design is way too stupid: and Umbra will make me favor and get rid of that Ophiucus leech as well by using his tricks…" Liquid laughed.

"Listen, Hoshikawa Subaru… Don't let impotence and despair get a grip of you or else you could go to tragic ends which would shake your already fragile bonds… Bonds are fragile…" Umbra sighed.

"Bonds are… fragile…!" Rock Man muttered.

"The time has come! Umbra! Forte! Solid! Liquid! You have served me well and, in reward, you shall become part of me: I shall achieve perfection, and, once these lowlifes have been exterminated, you shall be rebuilt into perfect existences! Now come at me! Fuse with me!" Twilight suddenly announced through some speakers.

"Twilight! You lowlife~!" Rock Man roared.

"Subaru! Calm down!" Vadous commanded.

"… Roger, Boss…!" Subaru made a grimace.

"Farewell!" The four of them exclaimed.

Streaks of purple light emerged from inside of their bodies and Rock Man turned away: their bodies then exploded and the explosion kicked Rock Man down the ramp back at the main corridor: he managed to see four golden spheroids hovering in the air which then warped out of the room while he clenched his left fist.

"Bonds are fragile…! You guys… I'm sorry…! I couldn't try to help you guys…!" Rock Man cursed.

"Finally…! I have achieved perfection! All that's left is executing the program and I shall evolve into my ultimate form!" Twilight laughed over the radio.

"Ultimate Form… You can use Noise Change or what?"

"Hah! I have no need for such childish power."

"Childish power? Tell that to Joker and WAXA, will you?"

"Shut up!"

"Fine. Show it to me…"

"Hah! This Ultimate Form shall turn me into the invincible _daimaou_ Twilight! Hroa~h!"

"Coming?" Vadous wondered.

"Gua~h…! Ya~h…!"

Twilight had stopped in the midst of an attack and purple energy formed out of nowhere to then build up around his body before hiding it completely inside of purple flames: they began to fade away and Vadous gasped.

"T-that's…!"

Twilight had gained a new helmet which had Andromeda's compact form "eyes" drawn over the forehead.

The main body armor was reminiscent of that of Ra Mu.

Crimson Dragon's wings had been added to his body.

He also had claws on his forearms and legs.

"Mwah, hah, hah, ha~h! I am invincible~!" He laughed.

"I wonder about that…"

"Wha~t?"

"It doesn't look better than make-up."

"Why, you…!"

"… Hmmm…"

"Give up! Nothing can defeat this form!"

"… One thing can, yet… Everyone! Evacuate this place NOW! Tell me once you're outside into the desert…" Vadous called out.

"… Hmpf. Fine. Something tells me it's worth it." Burai calmly replied through the radio.

"… Oho. Boss' secret technique…" Omega sounded amused.

"Huh. Be careful with that stuff, Boss!" Kir Osh warned.

"Don't worry, Kir Osh… He built it and he knows perfectly what to expect from it… Let's go outside." Lartes replied.

"Roger." Acid Ace confirmed.

"Let's go~!" Harp Note rallied.

"You lowlife… What does this mean?" Twilight demanded.

"Fight!" Vadous taunted.

"Whatever! Die~!"

Vadous dodged his claws and then extended his right hand forward: the "infinity" symbol colored purple showed up there and he aimed towards Twilight's chest emblem: it flew out of Vadous' hand and got attached there: Twilight didn't seem to notice it but his body began to slowly petrify: he roared and managed to stop the process: Vadous seemed to lift his eyebrows under his faceplate.

"You lowlife… Did you think I didn't know about your programs? My body has antibodies to them: I've recreated _all of them_!" He roared.

"Hmpf. No problem."

"Be gone~!"

"Come!"

"Ultimate… Destruction! I win!"

"Gotcha."

"What!"

Vadous suddenly formed two curved black-colored lance-like objects which moved in front of him: Twilight's attack, a blast of reddish energy, curved and headed back towards the source: Twilight was seemingly frozen in place as the attack impacted him full-on and he was propelled across the room and into a wall where he got stuck.

"Gu… Ack… Grah… Ugh…" He uttered.

"The end, Twilight… How fitting. Your "ultimate power" has been what had brought you your end." Vadous he stored his swords on the sheaths.

Twilight's body had large gaping wounds into it and he looked like he was about to be deleted any moment now.

"You lowlife… This is not… the end…!" He uttered.

"Hmpf. Stubborn… Realize it: you were a fanatic who were deluded and wanted to bring pain to the whole world. I wouldn't allow for that to happen." Vadous shrugged.

"Time-Space…! I have…! Overcome Time-Space…! But only my body shall die in this place…! My consciousness shall… remain alive… and… shall cross the Time-Space… A new chapter shall begin… You lowlife and I are, after all… linked by "Fate"… I shall… fight another incarnation of you lowlife… and I shall triumph…!" Twilight uttered.

He let out a dry and hollow crackle before his body was finally deleted: Vadous sighed and looked away.

"Twilight… You had no cure. You were totally obsessed with "perfection" and it led to your madness… And that talk didn't impress me in the very least, anyway." Vadous muttered.

"Warning! _Daimaou_'s signature has disappeared: self-destruct device has been engaged and will execute in 30 seconds." An auto-voice rang out along with some sirens.

"Time to scram…"

Vadous aimed his Hunter – VG towards the middle of the room and pressed some keys into it: a purple swirling gateway opened and he calmly walked towards it without spotting a small dragonfly hovering very close to his right shoulder.

"Hmmm?"

Vadous suddenly turned around for an instant and seemed to scan the room before shrugging and heading back towards the gateway and stopping a second time to have a last look at the scenery: the sirens grew in intensity.

"15 seconds to self-destruct system activation… All personnel: evacuate the premises."

"Farewell… Zenay III!"

09:29 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hum. I see."

An unidentified man was sitting on a chair placed behind of a small metallic desk somewhere in a largely unlit room and looking at a Real Wave screen showing an overhead live feed of Vadous walking into a room having a large viewing window: the whole expeditionary team was gathered there and looking at a gigantic plasma spheroid which shone above the planet's equator plus a shockwave ring which began to spread through the surface.

"… It's over, Boss?" Subaru asked.

"It's over: he was brought down by his own arrogance."

"Yet…" Subaru sighed.

"I know, Subaru, but I understand how you feel. It's not like I can change the world, either. I'm not all-powerful, either. Realizing one's limitations is a very important thing to do to avoid temptation. One must always do their best, true, but _always within their limitations_."

"… True… I understand… I know that it'd been somewhat pointless to have Solid and Liquid around given how Tsukasa – kun and Hikaru are exactly like them, yet… If only Umbra and Forte could've come along…" Subaru sighed and sounded depressed.

"But they had a will of their own and were not totally controlled by Twilight, so I'd say they pretty much purged themselves by sabotaging the missiles." Vadous replied.

"… Heh, heh, heh. As always, _Cousin_ Vadous… You're skilled with words yet so I am. Relax! I'm more like you yet I am not a fighter and had no intention of causing any bother… But… _Cousin_ Yoru Yami… Or should I say, _Cousin_ Twilight? You can't fool me… I know very well the trick you used here… And wherever you go to… I'll be there, too. It'll be amusing to see what you come up with next time… Kanou Shade promises you this, _Cousin_ Twilight! I'll foil your next scheme yet! You won't win. I won't let you win. Such is my duty: to foil your ambitions! Get ready!"


	21. Chapter 21: Finale

**Chapter 21: Finale**

16:36 PM (Japan Time), Sunday May the 30th…

"… What a weekend, man! I now wanna go back to my "troll mode" and pull your ears, Bertie~!"

"Rock…! Don't copy Omega – san: it's hard enough for me to handle him and I dunno how I could handle _another one_ like him!"

"Is that a plea~?"

"Whatever!"

"Heh, heh, heh. War Rock – sama's a genius…"

"Yeah, yeah…"

Subaru was sitting in the chair behind his desk built on his room and was rolling his eyes: War Rock was hovering around and looking like he was up to something.

"… By the way! Did Acid Disaster find Sparkling Sparker of Sparks?" War Rock asked with a grin.

"You mean Tsukasa – kun? No. He's starting to think he's been abducted by some gang or another so he transferred his notes to the national police given how they might have some hints of where he's at." Subaru sighed and looked worried.

"Oh. Eh… Well… Maybe we could try to look for him ourselves?" War Rock turned serious.

"I'd like to, but Akatsuki – san strongly discouraged me from trying: those people are not to be provoked. He told me to wait and have patience: he's sure that the national police will eventually "decapitate" them by striking from all flanks…" Subaru negated with the head.

"That sounds logical… Anyway… Beware of the _souvenir_ which I placed beneath the pillow! Later!"

"Oi! Rock! Wait!"

Subaru turned around but War Rock was already gone: he sighed and climbed to the upper section to check his bed's pillow: a small plastic bag with sand set inside of it could be seen there: Subaru got a twitch above his right eyebrow.

"Rock…!" He muttered.

He picked the bag, ran outta the room, and into the living room: he put his boots on and came outside to toss the sand into the river before sighing and muttering something under his breath.

"I'm fed up with these." He grumbled.

"BURO~!" Ox suddenly roared from inside of Gonta's house.

"Gonta trapped him with the hyper-spicy ginger beef again?" Subaru wondered.

"Hah! Have at cha!" War Rock laughed as he ran out.

"War Rock! You jerk! Wait there! The great me won't be humiliated just like this!" Ox roared.

He ran after him and chased War Rock into the Wave Roads: Subaru rolled his eyes and looked like he couldn't endure it anymore.

"Why do they always have to be like that?" He asked to no – one in particular.

"_Meitantei_ Kizamaro has the answer: when not busting Viruses, War Rock prefers to stir up old rivalries to get some excitement!" Kizamaro announced as he suddenly came out of his house and made his glasses shine.

"Kizamaro – kun…" Pedia muttered.

"Gonta is always thinking in food and you now wanna play the _meitantei_, Kizamaro?" Subaru asked.

"Yeah! My deductions are unrivaled!"

"But your "diet" deduction regarding Gonta was wrong."

"… My first and last error…" He sighed.

"Come on! It's not like the world will end because of that."

"I know that, Subaru – kun, yet…"

"Yet you keep on saying that, Kizamaro?"

"Yikes! _I-iinchou_!"

Luna had walked out of her apartment building and caught up to them along with Mode who was humming a tune and looking elsewhere: Subaru caught eye of it and frowned.

_Is it or it looks like Mode has been up to something?_

"I'm glad you came back in one piece after all, though, Subaru – kun! It had to be a hard expedition." Luna smiled at him.

"Obviously… I've walked more in this weekend than any other time before…" Subaru shrugged.

"Did Rock Man – sama get hurt?"

"How wouldn't he? Those "Darkloids" were not there to chat."

"Oh…! Obviously, obviously…!"

Mode began to blink with his right eye and Subaru caught wind of it: he seemed to be slightly surprised.

_Oh! _Iinchou_ is going to try to make another "confession" but I'm sure it's a fantasy inspired by some TV series or another…_

"Can't you call Rock Man – sama, Subaru – kun?"

"Sorry. But Rock went to quarrel with Ox and I dunno when he'll be back…"

"Oh…! What bad timing, really!" Luna sounded exasperated.

_I knew it!_ Subaru inwardly sighed.

"Well then… Later!"

"We meet tomorrow at school, _iinchou_." Kizamaro announced.

"Sure, sure."

"Bwah, hah, hah, hah, hah, ha~h! I've found the heroine for my script: it's time to put it into motion!" A voice rang out.

"That voice…!" Luna gasped.

"Phantom Black…!" Subaru cursed.

"… Boo~!"

"KYA~H!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Gotcha, Student Council President _iinchou_!"

"W-who…?"

"Omega – san…!"

"Yo! Bertie~! Did I interrupt the love confession?"

"Please…!"

"How rude!"

"My bad."

Omega had showed up in front of Luna and he looked rather amused: Subaru slapped his forehead in defeat, Kizamaro looked angst, Luna had turned pale but had now gotten annoyed.

"Rock Man – sama~! Remove this barbarian from my sight!"

"I can't… He's higher in rank and power than me and he's an ally."

"No way!"

"No way, oh wandering wanderer of ways…!" Omega chanted.

"That sounds sillier than Gonta – kun's attempts at playing cool." Kizamaro grimly muttered.

"Yo! _Meitantei_ – _sama_~! Wanna crack the enigma of Horus' Chamber?"

"What "Horus' Chamber" do you mean, sir?"

"Don't be so dense! The Great Pyramid's Horus' Chamber!"

"Isn't that a myth?" Subaru asked.

"Well! They said the Mu Continent was a myth, so…"

"I get the point."

"Hmpf! I'm off. Come, Mode! I want to protest to the Satella Police!" Luna exclaimed.

"Heh, heh, heh! Oh! Protesting protester of protests… The road shall lead you to Prophet Jeremy's watery grave." Omega laughed in a hysterical manner and had to lean on the mailbox.

Luna played deaf and shut the foyer door with unusual violence: both Subaru and Kizamaro rolled their eyes.

"First thing she'll do tomorrow is turn me into a scapegoat." Subaru grimly predicted.

"Sure thing…" Kizamaro grimly confirmed.

"Yo! Bertie~! Run away! They're about to dynamite this place~!"

"Dynamite?"

"Destroy!"

"E~h! Whose work would this be?"

"Dynamo Man."

"Dynamo Man…? A surviving "Darkloid"…?"

"Wait a minute! According to my database, dynamite was type of powder explosive used in the in 19th and 20th centuries before being replaced by other types of explosives… And a "dynamo" is a device used in the generation of electricity! It's a pun on "dynamo"!" Pedia let out.

"Omega – san…!" Subaru looked like he couldn't bear it anymore as he slapped his forehead.

"Later, Bertie~! Make sure to lock the room when coming out or else Mr. Rabbit-in-the-hat is gonna come steal secret weapons!"

"Please go back to the HQ, sir! I cannot bear it anymore, sir! And when Boss finds out, sir, there'll be consequences, sir!" Subaru growled but without ignoring his manners.

"Sure, Bertie~!"

"OMEGA~!" Vadous roared over his radio.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they could hear in the middle of the Patagonia…" Omega looked amused.

"COME BACK HERE IMMEDIATELY~!"

"Sure, sure, Yell Man."

"Who?"

"Yell Man."

"That's so stupid, really…!"

Omega jumped atop the apartment building where Luna lived at and made a sarcastic reverence before jumping into the Wave Road and becoming out of sight: Subaru looked about to explode and take the tension out into something.

"… I need a cold shower." He finally muttered.

"Eh… See you tomorrow, Subaru – kun…" Kizamaro reminded him.

"Sure, sure…"

Subaru dragged his feet back at his home and got into his room: he began to accommodate his school stuff into the backpack in a methodical manner: he closed it and stretched before rummaging into a drawer and picking a new pair of pajamas.

"There. I'm gonna have a shower and I'll shake off the tension."

He headed towards the bathroom while humming a tune…

16:48 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hmmm? Mail… From Akatsuki – san… It's gotta be something serious, so I'll check it out."

"Pororon… I just saw our two hyperactive men fighting each other above the Big Wave store~…"

"Uh-unh… Let's see… E~h? What the heck is this?"

Misora had been browsing menus with her Hunter – VG and barely listing to what Harp had to say: she suddenly stood up and looked terrified by something.

"What the heck is this photo?" She cursed.

The photo displayed Misora (having a straw hat and sunglasses on) walking down a street with Gonta plus a headline above it:

"IDOL HIBIKI MISORA'S NEW LOVE?"

"No way! This never happened!" She exclaimed.

"I doubt Akatsuki – san making such jokes."

"… Omega! That guy! It has to be him!"

"Yo! Idol – sama~! Did ya like my Photoshop skills?" Omega's voice rang out through the Hunter – VG.

"Photo-what?" Misora questioned.

"OMEGA! What have you done now?" Vadous yelled.

"Ops. _Shachou_ smelled my new cologne."

"You don't use cologne!"

"Cologne Man told me to."

"Shaddup! What's that over there? Huh? E~H? How can you do this, Omega! This is serious! Apologize to Hibiki NOW or I'm gonna shut you down and lock you in the capsule for 30 straight days!" Vadous roared over the line.

"Okay, okay… Sorry, Hibiki! I was inspired."

"Then ya better not be inspired again." Misora icily replied.

"Scary, scary… I'm off to say hi to Dragon!"

"Oi! Wait! Don't give him crazy ideas!"

"Don't worry! I'll only show him how he made it to the Guinness Book of World Records 2204!"

"That guy…!" Vadous cursed.

"Is impossible, yeah." Misora shrugged.

"Sorry for the scare…"

"Don't worry, Vadous – san… By the way… What's become of the other facilities and constructs scattered across Zenay III?"

"My orbital probe showed me that they also underwent a self-destruction process: all Wave Roads are gone, too, because there's nothing powering them up anymore, and so are all Viruses, too. It's now back to what it was… with the exception of the ruins… before Twilight turned it into his operation base. And that had to take several months." Vadous replied with a sigh.

"A planet filled with remains of constructs… What would a future exploration team who did not who what happened there say? They'd believe there was a civilization which was wiped out, maybe? Can you clearly tell a self-destruct from outside attacks, anyway?" Misora sounded inspired.

"You clearly can because they key structural points were the ones strapped with explosives… But if they don't have a clue about demolition, then they might end up believing it collapsed from intense shelling performed by an outside attacking party."

"Maybe I'll write a song about this adventure: there's so much material I could use…" Misora looked amused.

"Go ahead." He encouraged.

"Thanks! Later."

"Later."

Misora finished the communication and grinned as she picked a white paper sheet and a pencil: she began to write some lines and frowned as she reread them.

"Hmmm… _In a far away planet there were trials and hardships: a barren world was turned into the operational base for a _daimaou_ who ambitioned to gather an army of Denpa Bodies and strike Earth… _Nah… That sounds more like a narration. No. Let's start anew." She decided.

She erased the writing and began again.

"… Let's see… _Shining skies, shining planets… Planets filled with Denpa Bodies… Mines, caves, factories, ruins, canyons, valleys, rivers and squares… Shining skies, shining planets… Nine persons venture there to live an adventure… Deadly enemies, deadly weather, deadly landscapes… Shining skies, shining planets… Linked by bonds, they keep on fighting for the sake of their friends… The evil _daimaou_ who rules the _makai_ pits them against relentless enemies… Shining skies, shining planets… But "Bond Power" overcomes anything and they accumulate triumphs… They advance closer towards the _daimou's _palace… Shining skies, shining planets… An epic battle makes the palace shake as it defies gravity and floats in the skies… Fire and flame then consume the _makai_ and only ruin is left… Shining skies, shining stars… The Nine Warriors save Earth from a greater danger… And they all gather under a _shooting star_ to wish upon a safe future…_ Hmmm… Not bad, you know! I'll show it to Subaru – kun later on to see what he thinks." Misora grinned.

"Pororon! Status update: Blood Shadow came and split those two before they could try to bring the fight to Gonta's house."

"Really… Men will be, after all, men." She rolled her eyes.

"Pororon! True." Harp rolled her eyes as well.

Misora shrugged and then smiled while she looked at her completed new song… 

16:54 PM (Japan Time)…

"… So?"

"Oi, oi…"

"So?"

"Leave me alone, will ya?"

"So?"

"Ya ain't my housewife!"

"So?"

"Stop playing stalker!"

"Who's playing stalker?"

"Ya are."

"Akatsuki…!"

"Shidou. Bad move."

"Yeah. Now you tell me, Mr. Perfect?"

"I thought it was obvious."

"Will you listen to me or play deaf, Akatsuki?"

"Queen Tia… Are ya gonna impose me a diet or what? I'm thinner than a lightning rod!"

"Akatsuki – kun! Queen Tia! Please stop fighting each other."

Queen Tia had cornered Shidou in a corner of WAXA's front yard and was discussing with him before the WAXA Chief happened to come out and stopped them.

"Chief! I'm being subjected to stalking!" Shidou protested.

"I don't think so. You just are fueling the old sense of rivalry."

"… Might be so." Queen Tia dully replied.

"Anyway! Stop the quarreling already."

"Roger…" Both muttered.

Queen Tia caught eye of Jack coming out of the building while toying with his Hunter – VG: Jack lifted his sight and gasped to then quickly switch the power off.

"What were you doing, Jack?" She questioned.

"N-neechan! Eh… It's not important… No big deal, really!"

"… _That_?" She questioned.

"Eh… No, no…!"

"I doubt that having success anytime soon."

"Huh… But one can always dream, right?"

"Sometimes dreams lead to ambition and disgrace."

"Eh… G-guess I'll be going back… L-later!"

Jack ran off while looking pale and scared, for once, and Shidou frowned: he didn't seem to have caught any of it.

"I dunno if ya were talking in code or what, but… I'd never seen Jack be scared of anything." Shidou muttered.

"I will be going back, too. Do enjoy your pyrrhic victory, Akatsuki."

"What pyrrhic victory? We came back in one piece and managed to totally defeat them, ya know!"

"It was an irony."

Queen Tia headed towards the Wave Liner station while Shidou took out a "Sweet Candy" bar which he started to munch.

"That Tia… I don't get her at all." He muttered.

"No good." Acid sentenced.

Shidou ignored him and kept on munching…

17:01 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Really… We got mobilized because there were reports of a battle over the Big Wave store and it was you two trying to tear each other to pieces _yet again_? When will you stop doing that?"

"Hmpf!"

"Hmpf!"

"Heh. Though guys!"

"Don't inspire them, Sigma: it gets worse."

"Hmpf!"

"Hmpf!"

Blood Shadow and Sigma were talking with Ox and War Rock after they'd stopped their fight: both looked offended, Sigma was amused and Blood Shadow was serious.

"Hmpf. You lowlifes keep on fooling around… When the next strong jerk appears they'll annihilate you in one blow…"

Everyone looked towards NE to see Burai standing there along with Laplace: he had his usual hostile face on.

"Eh… Looking for a rematch with Rock Man?" Blood Shadow asked.

"No. This lowlife over here has hidden my "Stealth Game" save data somewhere around here and I'm trying to find it. I'll then give this lowlife a lesson." Burai dully replied.

The four of them quickly ran out of the spot and towards and another to clear the way for Burai: he formed a smug smile and dashed past them.

"Scary, scary…" Sigma chuckled.

"Hmpf!" The two Wizards scoffed.

"You guys are impossible…" Blood Shadow sighed in defeat.

Sigma kept on chuckling, the two of them scoffed and Blood grumbled…

20:51 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Okay. All's ready for another week. What nerves! I'm drawing closer to the end of 6th grade… And I'll start middle school next!"

"Middling mid-field of middle~…"

"Oh. Sing it to the birds, Rock."

"To Corvus' ghost?"

"Hah, hah. I'm so impressed, really."

"Heh, heh, heh. Bloody Shadowy has been trying to turn ya skeptical but I know better, Bertie~! I've been reading your diary!"

"That's rude, Rock! It was _my_ private diary!"

"I never cared for that: I'm an alien!"

"Always with the same excuse ready, huh?"

"Anyway… Beware of Clark Kent's ghost! I'm off to pulling a troll in Wolf and Juurou!"

"O-oi! Rock! Crap. This can't be good."

Subaru had changed into his pajamas and been about to climb into his bed when War Rock had begun another round of joking: he then ran off again and Subaru rolled his eyes.

"… Even if there'll be a new adventure… I'm sure it can wait a while. Time to hit the sack… Huh? E~h! What the heck is this?"

Subaru had lifted the covering and founds Omega's edited photo: he got a twitch over the right eye and suddenly tore into pieces before tossing it into the garbage bin: he fumed and exhaled.

"There's no end to this stuff? Anyway… Good night!"

He climbed into the bed and glanced at the starry skies above his head for a second before closing his eyes and forming a smile…

**THE END**


End file.
